GETTING  AND  GIVING 

'^WILLIAM  M.WEEKLEYob 


THE  STEWARDSHIP 
<^>0  OF  WEALTH  0<^ 


tihvaxy  oft\\t  trheolo^ical  ^tmimry 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


•d^D* 


PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  H.   LeFevre 


^,    f«/.     cU.    fjt^^-i^ 


MAY  21  1952 


lOSICkl  %\.'*'}t 


Getting  and  Giving 


OR 


THE  STEWARDSHIP  OF 
WEALTH 


By 

W.  M.  WEEKLEY,  D.D. 

Church-Erection  Secretary,  United  Brethren  Church 


'•Therefore,  as  ye  abound  in  everything,  in  faith  and  utterance,  and  knowledge, 
and  in  all  diligence,  and  in  your  luve  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also." 
(II.  Corinthians  8:7.) 


DAYTON,  OHIO 

UNITED   BRETHREN    PUBLISHING   HOUSE 

1903 


COPYRIGHT     BY 

U.      B.      PUBLISHING 

HOUSE  ISO  3 


irr 


OAYTON,    OHIO 


PEEFACE. 

In  preparing  the  following  pages,  tkongli  im- 
perfectly clone,  the  author  has  been  actuated  solely 
by  a  desire  to  help  the  reader,  if  possible,  to  a 
clearer  understanding  of  God's  financial  plan,  and 
to  encourage  a  full  and  hearty  acquiescence  in  the 
same. 

The  place  of  money  in  successful  gospel  work, 
and  the  relation  of  benevolence  to  tlie  development 
and  perfecting  of  Christian  character,  are  ques- 
tions of  tremendous  significance,  and  should  be 
faithfull}'  dealt  with  in  the  pulpit,  and  honestly 
considered  by  every  Christian. 

A  campaign  of  education,  Avitli  the  view  of  ele- 
vating the  standard  of  beneficence  in  the  church, 
and  of  quickening  its  spiritual  life,  should  be  vig- 
orously prosecuted.  IN'othing  short  of  this  will 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  gospel,  and  the  real 
needs  of  the  world. 

That  this  little  volume  may  be  blessed  of  God 
in  helping  to  secure  these  results,  is  the  earnest 
wisli  and  praver  of  the  Author. 


fis-l 


IISrTRODUCTTOK 

Having  examined,  and  heard  read  the  manu- 
script of  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Weekley,  D.  J).,  on  ''Get- 
ting and  Giving :  or,  The  Stewardship  of  Wealth/' 
I  take  pleasure  in  commending  it  to  our  ministers 
and  laymen  as  a  highly  valuable  and  very  practical 
discussion  of  the  Christian  use  and  abuse  of 
wealth.  It  is  written  in  a  clear,  forcible  style,  and 
a  wide  circulation  of  it  will  give  light  and  quick- 
ening to  many  a  conscience,  and  hasten  the  com- 
ing of  the  kingdom  of  God.  J.  S.  Mills, 

Bishop  of  the  United  Bi^etlircn  Church. 

I  have  examined  tbe  manuscript  of  the  book  by 
Doctor  Weekley,  on  ''Getting  and  Giving ;  or.  The 
Stewardship  of  Wealth."  The  book  is  timely,  the 
subject  is  important,  and  the  presentation  is  clear 
and  forcible.  The  author's  aim  is  not  to  set  aside 
the  duty  of  giving  as  a  requirement  of  law,  but 
rather  to  show  the  higher  duty  and  privilege  of 
giving  under  the  gospel.  The  book  should  have  a 
wide  reading.  A.  W.  Drury, 

Professor  in   Union  Biblical  Seminary. 

Wr-  bave  had  the  pleasure  of  examining,  in  man- 
uscript, materinl  for  a  little  volume  to  be  entitled, 
"Getting   and    Giving;    or.    The   Stewardship   of 


vi  Getting  and  Giving 

Wealth/'  and  written  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Weekley. 
There  is  no  subject,  perhaps,  concerning  which 
the  average  church-member  needs  more  specific 
instruction  than  that  of  the  relation  of  money  to 
the  gospel.  The  author,  in  clear,  plain,  unam- 
biguous language,  presents  God's  proprietorship 
and  our  consequent  stewardship ;  the  right  and 
wrong  way  of  raising  money,  and  the  harvest  that 
shall  follow  each ;  he  urges  the  duty  of  m)inisterial 
support,  and  warns  against  the  idolatry  of  covet- 
ousness,  which  is  a  growing  form  of  the  false  wor- 
ship of  to-day ;  he  emphasizes  the  duty  of  the  min- 
istry, and  closes  with,  an  interesting  chapter  on 
"The  Divine  Method  of  Church  Building."  Wo 
commend  this  volume,  believing  that  if  read,  and 
its  teachings  followed,  it  will  give  a  great  impulse 
to  our  religious  life,  and  thereby  add  to  the  finan- 
cial resources  of  the  church. 

H.  A.  Thompson^ 
Editor  United  Brethren  Review. 

It  was  a  pleasure  to  me  to  read  the  contents  of 
this  volume  while  in  manuscript  form.  I  count 
it  a  privilege  equally  great  to  help  start  it  on  its 
mission  with  words  of  commendation.  Three 
questions  should  be  asked  about  every  new  book: 
Is  the  subject-matter  worthy  ?  Is  there  a  field  for 
it  ?  Is  the  author  qualified  ?  Unless  all  can  be 
answered  in  tlie  affirmative,  the  book  should  not 
be  published. 

No  Bible  student  will  pronounce  the  subject 


Introduction  vii 

•iiii^\'ortliy.  Wherever  the  gospel  is  preached  there 
is  a  iield  for  such  a  book.  With  more  than  thirty 
years  of  active  and  successful  labor,  and  a  quarter 
of  a  century's  study  of  this  phase  of  work,  there  is 
no  doubt  as  to  the  qualification  of  the  autlior.  The 
Avork  is  scriptural,  so  far  as  the  Bible  utters  its 
voice  on  tlie  topics  treated.  Where  the  Word  is 
silent,  a  foundation  of  pure  religion  and  common 
sense  is  substituted.  The  honest  inquirer  will  read 
with  profit  to  himself,  benefit  to  the  church,  and 
glory  to  God.  Joseph  M.  Phillippi^ 

Assistant  Editor  of  the  Religious  Telescope. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  examine  the  following 
pages  on  ''Getting  and  Giving;  or.  The  Steward- 
ship of  Wealth,"  prepared  by  Kev.  W.  M.  Week- 
ley,  D.  D.,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  commending 
the  same.  The  book  will  fill  an  important  place 
in  the  literature  of  the  church,  and  merits  a  care- 
ful reading  by  every  one  interested  in  this  vital 
subject.    I  trust  it  will  be  given  a  wide  circulation. 

Marion,  Ohio.  J.  L.  Hensley,  M.  D. 


Getting  and  Giving 


Tpie  General  Conference  of  the  Cliurcli  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ  of  1901  enacted  the  fol- 
lowing : 

''Christian  Steiuardship  Commission:  There 
shall  be  a  Christian  Stewardship  commission,  con- 
sisting of  the  secretaries  of  the  Yonng  People's 
Christian  Union,  of  the  Home,  Frontier,  and  For- 
eign Missionary  Society,  of  the  Church-Erection 
Society,  of  the  Sabbath-School  Board,  and  of  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Society." 

Under  the  auspices  of  this  commission,  and  with 
its  approval,  this  little  volume  is  sent  forth.  Other 
similar  publications,  it  is  hoped,  will  soon  follow. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface,    ----.--        iii 
Introduction,  .  .  .  _  _  y 

General  Conference  Enactment,       -  -  .      viii 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Divine  Proprietorship,  -  -  -  13 

CHAPTER  II. 
Man's  Stewardship,        .  _  .  -  .        21 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Christian  System  of  Giving,  -  -  33 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Christian  System  of  Giving — Concluded,        -        41 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Harvest,  .  .  .  _  .  55 

CHAPTER  YI. 
Wrong  Methods  of  Raising  Money,  -  -        65 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Covetousness,  .  .  .  _  .  79 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Covetousness— Concluded,         -  -  -  -        89 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Ministerial  Support,  .  _  .  .  97 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Duty  of  the  Ministry,     -  -  -  -      109 

CHAPTER  XI. 
The  Divine  Method  of  Church  Building,         -  119 


Tlie  Divine  Proprietorship  11 


THE  DIVIiSrE  PKOPKIETOESHIP. 

"And  Abram  said  to  the  king  of  Sodom,  I  have 
lifted  mine  hand  unto  the  Lord,  the  most  high 
God,  the  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth"  (Genesis 
14:22). 

'^^God  has  the  power  to  create  without  restraint, 
and  to  possess  without  dependence." — Rev.  C,  A. 
Cooh. 

"Christian  giving — the  laving  upon  the  altar  of 
God  one's  means  in  recognition  of  God's  sover- 
eignty over  him,  and  as  an  expression  of  gratitude 
and  a  token  of  allecdance — makes  a  man  better." 
— B.  F.  Jolinson. 


GETTING  AND   GIVING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Divi:te  Peoprietokship. 

Ix  discussing  the  money  problem,  we  must,  first 
of  all,  consider  tlie  question  of  divine  ownership. 
^'In  civil  engineering  all  measurements  are  from  a 
base  line,  the  accepted  base  line  being  the  level 
of  the  sea.  God's  absolute  ownership  of  all  things 
is  the  true  base  for  the  proper  survey  of  the  whole 
territory  of  thought  and  action  suggested  by  the 
terms  ^money,'  ^property,'  Svealth,'  and  from  this 
point  we  must  measure  our  responsibilities,  privi- 
leges, and  duties  in  our  use  of  all  the  money  that 
ever  comes  into  our  hands."  If  we  reject  this  base 
line,  we  may  rest  assured  that  our  premise  is 
wrong,  and  our  conclusions,  which  give  color  to 
the  whole  life,  will  be  utterly  at  variance  with  the 
Word  of  God.  If  we  reject  it,  the  entire" question 
of  benevolence  degenerates  into  a  mere  sentiment, 
and  loses  its  moral  force  upon  the  heart  and  con- 
duct of  the  individual.  We  must  recog-nize  our 
relationship  to  God,  ^^tlie  possessor  of  heaven  and 
earth,"  and  the  author  of  ^^every  good  and  perfect 
gift."     ISTo  other  starting-point  is  safe;  no  other 

13 


14  Gettinrj  and  Giving 

will  lead  to  a  just  conception  of  tlie  acquisition, 
possession,  and  use  of  material  wealth. 

The  Scriptures  teach  nothing  more  clearly  than 
the  divine  proprietorship  of  all  things ;  in  fact, 
this  doctrine  is  fundamentally  connected  with  the 
entire  plan  of  redemption.  A  German  student  has 
defined  the  difference  between  socialism  and  Chris- 
tianitv  thus :  ^'Socialism  savs,  ^What  is  thine  is 
mine' ;  Christianity  says,  'What  is  mine  is  thine.'  '' 
The  difference  is  very  marked.  The  epigram, 
however,  needs  to  be  corrected,  and  Dr.  K.  W. 
Dale  does  it.  ^'Christianity,''  he  says,  '^teaches  us 
to  say,  'What  seems  thine  is  not  thine ;  what  seems 
mine  is  not  m,ine ;  ^\'hatever  thou  hast  belongs  to 
God,  and  whatever  I  have  belongs  to  God ;  you  and 
I  must  use  w^hat  we  have  according  to  God's  will.'  '^ 
This  recognition  of  the  divine^  inalienable  owner- 
ship is  the  one  cornerstone  of  the  whole  biblical 
system  of  giving.  Under  the  law,  the  giving  of  the 
firstborn  to  Jehovah  was  itself  a  recognition  of  his 
ownership  of  the  entire  family.  Likewise,  the 
offerino^s  of  the  first  of  the  flock  and  the  firstf ruits 
of  the  soil  in  sacrifice  was  an  acknowledgment  of 
his  right  to  all  the  flock,  and  to  all  the  products 
of  the  ground.  When  King  David  took  the  first 
great  collection  for  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  which 
brought  to  the  treasury  more  than  $25,000,000  in 
gold,  besides  other  precious  materials,  his  heart 
was  strangely  moved  as  he  contemplated  the  offer- 
ing, and,  recognizing  the  good  hand  of  God  in  it 
all,  he  exclaimed :     'Thine,  O  Lord,  is  the  great- 


The  Divine  Proprietorship  15 

ness  and  the  power,  and  tbe  glory,  and  tlie  victory, 
and  the  majesty:  for  all  that  is  in  the  heaven  and 
in  the  eartli  is  thine.  .  .  .  All  things  come 
of  tliee,  and  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee. 
.  .  .  O  Lord  our  God,  all  this  store  that  we 
have  prepared  to  build  thee  an  house  for  thine 
holy  name  cometJi  of  thine  hand,  and  is  all  thine 


own.'' 


There  are  myriads  of  estates,  small  and  great, 
with  their  title-deeds  upon  the  records  of  this  and 
other  countries,  l)ut  back  of  them  all  is  the  Mosaic 
record,  '^In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth."  Across  the  face  of  every  instru- 
mjent  representing  values,  whether  it  be  a  deed  or 
mortgage,  a  boud  or  l)equest,  is  written  in  imper- 
ishable characters,  '"The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and 
the  fulness  thereof."  We  do  not  possess  anything 
in  an  absolute  sense — a  fact  which  ought  to  humble 
us  and  lead  us  to  a  fuller  realization  of  our  entire 
dependence  upon  the  great  Source  of  all  blessings. 

The  very  air  we  breathe  is  His  breath ;  the  sun- 
light is  his  smile ;  the  water  we  drink  comes  from 
his  fountain ;  tlie  raiment  Ave  wear  is  a.  ffift  from 
his  unfailing  storehouse.  A  man  may  live  in  a 
costly  mansion,  furnished  with  all  that  taste  can 
suggest,  or  money  purchase,  but  it  does  not  belong 
to  him.  The  foundation-stones  came  from  God's 
quarry,  the  lumber  from  his  forest,  and  the  furni- 
ture from  the  hands  of  his  artisans.  For  the  pres- 
ent a  man  m.ay  control  vast  herds  and  flocks,  but  he 
has  no  real  claim  on  them.     A  man  may  have 


16  Getting  and  Giving 

some  kind  of  title  to  farm  after  farm,  or  to  whole 
business  blocks  in  the  city,  but,  after  all,  they  are 
not  his.  For  a  time  he  may  be  in  possession  of 
vast  mining  interests,  and  count  his  silver  and 
gold  by  millions,  but  at  best  he  only  holds  these 
things  in  trust.  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord: 
"YoY  every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the 
cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.  .  .  .  If  I  were 
liungT}^,  I  would  not  tell  thee:  for  the  world  is 
mine,  and  the  fulness  thereof."  Again:  ^'The 
silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts."  '^What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not 
receive?"  The  imag'e  may  be  Caesar's,  but  the 
gold  is  God's.  ^^A  man  who  makes  an  article  en- 
tirely out  of  his  own  materials,  and  from  his  own 
resources,  is  supposed  to  own  it.  If  he  lends  it, 
and  the  borrower  changes  the  form  or  use  or  name, 
do  the  changes  make  him  the  owner?  Does  not 
the  admission  that  God  made  everything  carry 
with  it  the  admission  that  he  owns  everything?" 
Paul  gives  us  an  exalted  view  of  this  subject  in 
Colossians  1 :  16,  ^'By  him  were  all  things  created, 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible 
and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  domin- 
ions, or  principalities,  or  powers;  all  things  were 
created  by  him  and  for  him/'  His  claims  are  not 
only  universal,  extending  to  all  worlds,  ])ut  they 
arc  specific,  including  all  created  things. 

Then,  in  what  dost  thou  boast,  O  man  ?  How 
poor  and  helpless !  and  so  thou  must  remain.  God 
does  not  propose  to  convey  away  his  right  and  title 


The  Divine  Proprietorship  17 

as  absolute  owner  of  all  things.  ^'He  has  gener- 
ously permitted  generation  after  generation  to  use 
his  possessions,  but  at  no  time  has  he  surrendered 
his  proprietorship.''  He  is  still,  and  ever  will  bg 
^'Lord  of  heaven  and  earth."  This  o^vnership  in- 
cludes man  himself — the  whole  man.  '^Ye  are  not 
vour  own,  for  ye  are  bought  w^ith.  a  price;  tliere- 
f ore  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your  spirit, 
which  are  God's.''  But  the  discussion  of  this  par- 
ticular thought  is  reserved  for  another  chapter. 


Mcui's  Stewardship  10 


MAX'S  STEWARDSHIP. 

''The  practice  of  (J'hristian  stewardship  means 
miicli  more  than  giviiig  liberally  of  one's  income ; 
it  means  the  getting  and  holding  and  spending  of 
all  one's  income  according  to  tlie  will  of  God." — 
Cooh 

"Giving  is  the  nobler  part  of  man,  the  side  of 
him  that  lies  highest  and  nearest  to  God." 

''I  ^vill  hold  what  I  have  as  Christ's ;  holding  it 
so  I  instantly  yield  it  at  his  call,  saying,  'Thine,  O 
wonnded,  blessed  Christ,  thine  is  the  right.'  " — 
ilf .  Rhodes,  D.  D. 

"Monev  itself  is  neither  o-ood  nor  bad :  it  is 
simply  force.  It  is  like  the  liglitning  or  the  sun- 
beam— it  Avithers  or  nourishes ;  it  smites  or  does 
our  bidding;  it  devastates  or  fertilizes,  according 
as  it  is  used  by  us.  Whether  money  is  good  or  bad 
depends  on  whether  it  is  sought  for  in  right  or 
wrong  ways,  used  wisely  or  unwisely,  squandered 
wdiere  it  does  harm,  or  bestowed  where"  it  does 
good." — J.  Cameron  Lees,  D.  D. 

"When  we  give  ourselves  to  the  Lord  Jesus  by 
an  everlasting  covenant^  he  admits  us  into  a  won- 
derfully endearing  copartnership,  a  sort  of  sacred 
stock  company  or  firm  of  which  the  Father  and  the 
Son  are  senior  partners.     Into  this  copartnership 


20  Getting  and  Giving 

Jesus  puts  all  he  is  and  all  he  has,  and  we  put  in 
all  we  have  and  all  we  are,  the  combined  stock  to 
be- used  as  the  needs  of  the  firm  require.  Can  it  be 
possible  that  the  Lord  Jesus  would  take  advantage 
of  the  generosity  and  devotion  of  his  people  and 
allow  them  to  suffer  w^hen  they  confidingly  place 
all  they  have  at  his  disposal  V — Rev.  M.  T.  Lamh. 


Man's  Stewardship  21 


CHAPTEK  II. 

Man's  Stewakdsiiip. 

If  we  recognize  God's  absolute  proprietorship  of 
all  tilings,  it  naturally  and  necessarily  follows  that 
we  are  stewards,  and  as  such  are  simply  intrusted 
with  his  property.  The  office  of  a  steward  is  sig- 
nificant. He  manages  the  affairs  of  another  with- 
out laying  claim  to  ownership.  Of  Abraham's 
faithful  old  ste^vard  it  is  said,  ''All  the  goods  of  his 
master  were  in  his  hand."  This  idea  is  clearly  set 
forth  in  the  parable  of  the  talents,  as  found  in 
Luke,  nineteenth  cliapter:  ''A  certain  nobleman 
went  into  a  far  country  to  receive  for  himself  a 
kingdom  and  to  retura.  And  he  called  his  ten 
seiwants  and  delivered  them  ten  pounds,  and  said 
unto  them.  Occupy  till  I  come."  The  servants 
did  not  claim  any  tiling  themselves ;  they  were  only 
stewards.  When  the  reckoning  time  came  they 
said,  ''Thy  pound,''  ''Thy  pound."  It  was  an- 
other's money  which  they  handled,  and  for  which 
they  were  responsible.  The  pounds  were  not  a 
gift,  but  a  trust ;  the  servants  were  in  no  sense 
owners,  but  stewards — nothing  more. 

Paul  carries  this  thought  up  into  a  higher  realm, 
and  speaks  of  ministers  as  ''stewards  of  the  mys- 
teries of  God."  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  God's 
steward,  to  handle  his  money,  to  manage  his  af- 


22  Getting  and  Giving 

fairs,  of  whatever  nature  they  may  be;  great  be- 
cause of  the  unbounded  resources  at  our  command, 
and  because  of  the  responsibility  connected  there- 
with.  It  would  not  mean  a  great  deal  to  be  a 
steward  for  some  men,  because  they  do  not  control 
much ;  but  to  be  the  Lord's  steward  has  an  infinite 
meaning,  since  his  possessions  are  boundless. 

^^My  Father  is  rich  in  houses  and  lands, 
He  holdeth  the  wealth  of  the  world  in  his  hands ; 
Of  rubies  and  diamonds,  of  silver  and  gold. 
His  coffers  are  full,  he  has  riches  untold." 

And  yet  the  present  control  of  these  things — these 
"houses  and  lands,"  tliis  "silver  and  gold" — is  coin- 
mitted  to  us.  "Moreover  it  is  required  of  stewards 
that  a  man  be  found  faithful."  As  a  steward  is 
accountable  for  the  trust  committed  to  him,  he  must 
be  honest  and  administer  it  according  to  the  wish 
of  the  owner,  and  with  his  interests  in  view.  He 
must  be  faithful.  Jesus,  in  Luke  12 :  42,  speaks 
of  the  "faithful  and  wise  steward,"  commending 
him  for  his  honesty  and  discretion,  and  promising 
him  great  reward.  Fidelity  does  not  depend  upon 
the  quality  or  quantity  of  the  gifts  intrusted  to 
us,  but  upon  the  use  to  which  they  are  put.  The 
man  with  two  talents  is  commended  the  same  as 
the  man  with  five,  because  he  has  been  equally 
faithful.  Responsibility  and  faithfulness  go  to- 
gether. "God's  ownership  of  all  things,  and  man's 
stewardship  as  a  consequence  of  that  ownership, 


Mans  Stewardship  23 

are  trutlis  wliicli  have  a  most  direct  bearing  upon 
the  entire  realm  of  human  life  and  action.'' 

Christian  stewardship)  includes  more  than  mere 
temporalities ;  it  may  be  extended  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  entire  man,  and  to  his  whole  life.  We 
are  responsible  to  God  for  our  time,  as  well  as  for 
our  money ;  for  the  right  use  of  our  physical  ener- 
gies, as  well  as  for  the  proper  cultivation  of  mind 
and  heart.  Every  blessing  which  the  all-loving 
Father  bestows  upon  us  involves  stewardship,  and 
we  can  no  more  evade  the  responsibility  connected 
therewith  than  we  can  get  along  without  the  bless- 
ing itself.  Absolute  self-surrender  to  God  must 
precede  the  devotement  of  what  we  have.  In  the 
divine  plan,  persons  come  before  things. 

In  II.  Corinthians,  eighth  chapter,  the  apostle 
aims  to  stir  up  the  liberality  of  his  brethren  by 
telling  them  what  the  churches  of  Macedonia  had 
done,  and  how  they  '^first  gave  their  own  selves  to 
the  Lord."  '^Personal  consecration  must  precede 
purse  consecration ;  self -consecration  must  go  be- 
fore wealth  consecration."  ^'Though  I  bestow  all 
my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my 
body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity, .  [that  is, 
if,  after  doing  these  things,  I  do  not  sustain  a 
proper  relationship  to  God,]  it  profiteth  me  noth- 
ing." The  man  who  seeks  to  employ  his  wealth 
and  time  in  doing  good,  without  first  surrender- 
ing himself  to  God  as  an  offering,  does  not  clearly 
understand  all  that  is  implied  in  Christian  stew- 
ardship.    This  is  the  crucial  point  in  the  whole 


24  Getting  and  Giving 

matter — ^^tlie  one  test  which  God's  Word  applies. 
If  we  fail  here,  we  fail  everywhere  else  in  the  end. 

'^Give  strength,  give  thought,  give  deeds,  give  pelf, 
Give  love,  give  tears,  and  give  thyself. 
Give,  give;  be  always  giving, 
Who  gives  not,  is  not  living ; 
The  more  we  give,  the  more  we  live.'^ 

J^otliing  will  count  in  our  favor  at  the  last  great 
day,  if  the  heart  and  life  have  not  been  surren- 
dered to  the  Savior.  It  is  not  the  gift  that  sancti- 
fies the  altar,  but  the  altar  tliat  sanctifies  the  gift. 
We  cannot  emphasize  too  strongly  the  importance 
of  a  clear  conception  of  our  relationship  to  God,  if 
v/e  would  understand  fully  the  use  we  are  to  make 
of  the  material  things  which  he  puts  in  our  hands. 
If,  then,  we  are  stewards,  what  proportion  of 
our  income  should  be  given  directly  to  the  cause 
of  benevolence?  This  brings  us  at  once  to  a  con- 
troverted point  in  the  discussion  of  the  subject — 
one  that  must  be  settled  unselfishly  and  in  the  fear 
of  tlie  Lord.  It  has  already  been  made  clear,  I 
think,  that  all  belongs  to  him  'Svho  giveth  us  richly 
all  things  to  enjoy."  In  Deuteronomy  8 :  18,  it  is 
recorded,  "But  thou  shalt  remember  the  Lord  thy 
God ;  for  it  is  he  that  giveth  thee  power  to  get 
wealth" ;  and  we  should  earnestly  seek  his  guid- 
ance in  its  distribution.  We  must  be  honest.  The 
nobleman,  "whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve,"  will 
return  by  and  by  to  reckon  with  us.  "Give  an 
accoimt  of  thy  stewardship,"  will  mean   a  most 


Man  8  Stewardship  25 

searching  inquiry  into  every  transaction  which  in- 
volved tlie  handling  and  disposing  of  his  money. 

The  consecration  of  our  temporal  substance  to 
the  service  of  Christ  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to 
bestow^  all  we  have — all  we  make — upon  charitable 
objects;  for  we  would  thus  pauperize  ourselves  and 
families.  Such  a  policy  w^ould  largely  defeat  our 
usefulness  to  others.  If  business  men  were  to  give 
away  all  they  make,  they  would  soon  have  no  cap- 
ital to  invest^  hence  no  money  to  disburse.  We  are 
to  spend  wdiat  is  really  needful  on  ourselves,  but 
not  for  ourselves.  We  belong  to  God,  so  it  must 
be  spent  for  him.  He  knows  that  our  bodies  need 
food  and  clothing  and  shelter;  that  they  must  be 
cared  for  when  sickness  and  the  infirmities  of  age 
come  on.  He  knows  that  our  minds  need  that  cul- 
tivation and  training  Avhich  only  schools  of  learn- 
ing can  give.  The  very  fact  that  he  has  provided 
food  and  raiment  and  educational  advantages,  all 
for  our  good,  is  proof  that  he  would  have  us  avail 
ourselves  of  these  things,  and  that  he  puts  money 
in  our  hands  for  that  very  purpose.  When  it  is 
thus  wisely  used  it  is  spent  for  his  glory. 

But  a  part  of  our  income  ought  to  be  given  out- 
right to  benevolent  objects.  This  has  ever  been 
God's  plan,  and,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  will 
so  continue  for  all  time.  He  has  ordained  it,  not 
only  for  the  good  and  comfort  of  the  worthy  needy,, 
who  are  to  share  our  bounties,  but  for  our  own 
good  as  well ;  for  such  a  bestowment  of  a  just  pro- 
portion of  our  earnings  is  one  of  the  surest  ways 


2Q  Getting  and  Giving 

of  enriching  the  life  of  the  giver.  ''It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.''  This  is  one  of 
the  Savior's  beautiful  sayings,  and  certainly  he 
who  gave  himself  for  otliers,  and  who  possesses  ''all 
things/'  that  he  may  freely  and  abundantly  bestow 
his  blessings  upon  his  creatures,  can  speak  with 
authority  upon  the  subject.  Giving  for  the  good 
of  others,  out  of  a  loving  heart,  has  its  reflex  in- 
fluence, which  invariably  makes  the  contribution 
worth  more  to  the  donor  than  to  the  one  receiving 
it. 

Far  back  in  Old  Testament  history  the  tithe 
Avas  required.  This  is  so  universally  understood 
and  admitted  that  scriptural  proof  is  scarcely  nec- 
essary. In  Genesis,  fourteenth  chapter,  the  system 
first  comes  to  notice,  and  is  taught  thereafter,  both 
by  precept  and  example,  down  to  Malachi,  who 
raises  the  searching  and  all-important  question, 
"Will  a  man  rob  God  ?"  And  then,  with  a  divine 
authority,  appeals  to  the  people,  "Bring  ye  all  the 
tithes  into  the  storehouse."  Giving  was  an  im- 
portant part  of  Jewish  religion  and  worship.  No 
one  dared  to  appear  before  Jehovah  w^ithout  an 
offering.  It  was  the  straight  edge  which  he  laid 
upon  every  life,  and  by  which  all  service  was 
tested.  It  may  be  noted  here,  however,  that  tith- 
ing was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  Jewish  race. 
The  custom  was  observed  among  the  Arabians, 
Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Ethiopians,  and  others. 
Grotius,  the  historian,  says  that,  according  to  both 
Greek   and   Latin   records,   the  practice  may  be 


Mans  Stewardship 


27 


traced  back  to  the  most  ancient  nations.  In  proof 
of  this  statement,  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  cite  in- 
stances, though  they  are  numerous  and  convincing. 

Coming  to  the  New  Testament,  we  do  not  find 
the  duty  and  importance  of  worshiping  God  in 
our  offerings  diminished  a  whit,  but  there  seems 
to  be  no  reference  to  tithing  as  a  divine  require- 
ment. The  scripture  in  ^latthew  23:  23,  usually 
relied  upon  to  show  that  the  tenth  system  received 
the  Saviors  sanction,  and,  therefore,  is  made  bind- 
ing on  the  Christian  church,  refers  solely  to  the 
Jewish  law,  and  its  application  to  those  living 
under  it.  The  scribes  and  Pharisees  were  sticklers 
for  the  observance  of  customs,  and  Jesus,  taking 
advantage  of  this,  commended  them  for  keeping 
that  part  of  the  law  which  made  tithing  their  duty, 
but  condemned  them  for  omitting  the  weightier 
matters,  such  as  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith. 

While  the  spirit  of  Old  Testament  benevolence 
is  to  be  continued  and  enlarged,  the  observance  of 
the  Afosaic  law  is  not  enjoined.  It  is  rather  taken 
up  by  Paul  and  glorified,  in  that  he  makes  an 
enlightened  Christian  conscience  the  standard  by 
which  our  gifts  are  to  be  measured.  Under  the 
law,  a  tenth  was  the  rule,  but,  sometimes,  niuch 
more  was  actually  given.  ]!s^umerous  special  offer- 
ings were  made  by  the  more  prosperous,  which,  in 
some  cases,  added  an  extra  tithe,  or  more;  but 
under  grace  no  effort  is  made  to  determine  by  any 
specific  enactment  just  what  we  shall  give.  It  is 
clear,   however,   that  if,   under  the  old   order  of 


28  Getting  and  Giving 

things,  the  setting  apart  of  a  tenth  for  religious 
purposes  was  essential  to  a  life  of  fellowship  with 
JehoA^ah,  the  standard  has  not  been  lowered  for  us 
who  live  under  the  gospel's  blazing  light.  We  may 
safely  go  farther  and  say  that^  since  our  facilities 
for  acquiring  wealth  are  ever  enlarging,  and  the 
objects  of  benevolence  are  constantly  increasing^ 
much  more  is  required  of  us ;  but  only  as  a  free- 
will offering. 

Under  our  present  complex  and  expanding  com- 
mercial system,  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  tithe  than  it  was  in  olden  times.  There 
w^ere  but  few  professions  then.  The  increase  in 
the  herds  and  flocks,  and  the  simple  fruits  of  the 
vine  and  soil  were  the  main  sources  of  income  to 
be  tithed.  The  method  of  division  was  simple ;  but 
to-day  it  is  quite  different.  In  the  whirl  of  busi- 
ness activities  many  a  man,  honest  and  upright, 
cannot  tell  what  he  is  w^orth,  nor  what  he  is  mak- 
ing. His  financial  projects  await  the  development 
and  consummation  of  his  plans.  Hence,  in  the 
matter  of  his  offerings,  he  cannot  follow  any  set 
rule ;  the  appeal  is  to  his  moral  sense,  and  by  that 
standard,  which  is  always  pleasing  to  God,  his 
contributions  are  made. 

Then,  be  it  remembered,  there  exists  a  great 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what  constitutes  tith- 
ing. Tvaise  this  question  in  any  religious  assembly, 
and  at  once  there  is  disagreement.  Which  are  we 
to  tithe,  our  gross  or  net  income  ?  What  expenses 
are  to  bo  deducted  ?     W^here  and  liow  are  we  to 


Mans  Stewardship  29 

draw  tlie  line  between  our  income  and  outlay  ? 
These,  Avith  many  other  similar  questions,  will  be 
propounded  and  discussed ;  but  no  satisfactory  con- 
clusion reached.  After  all,  each  man  has  his  own 
interpretation  of  the  system,  and  practices  it  ac- 
cording to  his  notion.  Paul  was  prophet  enough 
to  see  the  difficulties  that  would  arise  over  the  ques- 
tion in  the  far-distant  ages — how  hard  it  would  be 
to  teach  and  enforce  an  enactment  over  the  mean- 
ing of  which  the  best  Christians  themselves  would 
divide.  Hence,  in  one  master  effort,  he  lifted  the 
w^hole  subject  up  from  the  plane  it  had  occupied 
for  ages  into  the  realm  of  love,  where  an  enlight- 
ened judgment  and  a  quickened  sense  of  gratitude 
are  brought  into  play  in  determining  how  much 
and  to  A\hat  particular  objects  we  shall  give.  By 
planting  the  standard  there  he  would  remove  all 
grounds  of  controversy  over  a  point  so  vitally  con- 
nected with  the  growth  of  the  church  and  the  ulti- 
mate salvation  of  mankind. 


The  Christian  System  of  Giving  31 


THE  CHKISTIAIS"  SYSTEM  OF  GIVING. 

'•'The  idea  of  the  oft'ering  as  a  central  act  of 
worsliip — as  a  condition  of  appearing  before  the 
Lord  in  his  house — passed  over  from  the  Jewish 
Church  to  tlie  Christian  as  naturally  as  prayer. 
Men  are  to  be  taught  that  giving  to  the  Lord  is  an 
essential  part  of  public  worship.'' — Hugh  Miller 
Thompson. 

'The  law  of  the  tithe  is  not  expressly  restated  in 
the  ISTew  Testament,  but  the  principle  is  retained 
as  being  essentially  of  the  gospel  system  (Hebrews 
7:9),  and  the  whole  scheme  of  Old  Testament 
beneficence  under  grace  is  taken  up  and  glorified 
into  a  large-hearted,  liberal,  and  systematic  habit 
of  giving  to  God." — George  F.  Pentecost ^  D.  D. 


Tlic  Christian  System  of  Giviiuj  3'J 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Christian  System  of  Giving. 

Paul  lays  down  four  niles  wliicL  cover  the  en- 
tire field  of  giving,  three  of  which  may  be  found 
in  I.  Corintliians  16:2,  ''Upon  the  first  day  of 
the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store, 
as  God  hath  prospered  him."  This  is  the  new 
order  imder  grace. 

1.  He  states  ichen  we  are  to  give — '"upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week."  This  denotes  system.  We 
may  not  always  be  able  to  observe  the  rule  to  the 
letter,  for  Avitli  some  the  income  is  irregular. 
]\Iany  are  not  paid  for  their  labor,  or  for  what  they 
may  have  for  tlie  market  at  the  end  of  each  week, 
nor  even  at  the  close  of  each  month,  but  by  the 
vast  majority  of  persons  regular  and  frequent  con- 
tributions may  be  made.  Impulsive  and  hap- 
hazard giving  is  not  wise.  Some  one  has  aptly  re- 
marked, ''We  are  readv  for  the  collection  in  the 
sanctuary  ^vhen  we  have  first  made  the  collec- 
tion in  the  home."  Money  for  God's  cause  should 
be  thoughtfully  and  honestly  set  apart;  but  in  this 
the  many  fail.  If  they  are  in  church,  they  may 
give ;  if  absent,  they  do  not.  If  privately  solicited, 
they  give  much,  little,  or  nothing,  just  as  they  may 
happen  to  feel.  If  never  asked,  they  never  con- 
tribute. 


34  Getting  mid  Giving 

There  are  two  things  especially  to  be  gained  by 
obse^^dng  the  apostle's  method :  ' 

{a^  It  makes  giving  easier.  Laying  by  small 
sums  each  week,  or  month.,  is  much  better  than  to 
pay  the  full  amount  outright  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
Ten  cents  a  week  could  be  set  aside  by  the  poorest 
individual,  (who  has  an  income  at  all,)  whicii 
would  aggregate  five  dollars  and  twenty  cents  for 
the  year,  v/hile  it  w^ould  be  impossible  for  that 
person  to  pay  the  full  amount  out  of  the  earnings 
of  any  one  w^eek  or  month.  The  miost  poverty- 
stricken  man  in  the  neighborhood  will  somehow 
find  ten  cents  a  week  for  tobacco ;  but  if  he  had  to 
pay  the  five  dollars  and  twenty  cents  at  once,  he 
would  be  compelled  to  abandon  tlie  luxury.  It  is 
the  setting  apart  of  ten  cents  every  seven  days  that 
enables  him  to  continue  the  use  of  the  narcotic. 
Why  not  follow  the  same  plan  in  supporting  the 
gospel  ?  Such  was  the  practice  of  the  early  church. 
It  is  a  common-sense  method,  and  appeals  to  the 
intelligence  of  all  thoughtful  Christians. 

(Jj)  This  plan  never  fails  to  benefit  the  home 
in  w^hich  it  is  observed.  I  never  visit  a  family 
where  there  is  a  divine  treasury,  and  money  is 
constantly  going  into  it,  without  feeling  that  God 
himself  is  there.  If  there  are  children  in  the 
home,  it  never  fails  to  increase  their  respect  for 
the  church.  It  intensifies  and  makes  practical  tho 
very  spirit  and  meaning  of  our  holy  Christianity ; 
and  u]-)on  such  a  course  tlie  blessings  of  God  must> 
and  will  rest. 


TJic  Christian  System  of  Giving  35 

Reader,  if  vou  have  never  tried  this  plan,  begin 
it  at  once,  and  see  what  great  things  will  come 
from  it — how  your  ability  to  help  others,  who  need 
your  sympathy  and  aid,  will  be  enlarged,  and, 
above  all,  see  how  God  will  enrich  your  life  as  the 
result  of  simple  trust. 


^'For  the  heart  grows  rich  in  giving. 
All  its  wealth  is  living  grain  ; 
Seeds  which  mildew  in  tlie  garner, 
Scattered,  fill  ^vith  gold  the  plain." 

'2.  We  are  plainly  told  lulio  shall  give.  ''Every 
one  of  you."  ^o  one,  well-informed,  can  escape 
the  duty  and  be  a  Christian  in  the  best  sense.  All 
have  received,  so  all  must  give.  But  in  glancing 
over  the  churches  to-day  we  are  pained  to  see  so 
large  a  per  cent,  of  the  membership  giving  nothing 
at  all.  A  few  carrj^  the  burdens,  which  are  some- 
times exceedingly  lieavy,  while  the  many  permit 
them  to  do  so.  Too  many  want  to  ride  in  the  gos- 
pel car  at  the  expense  of  somebody  else.  They 
must  be  in  the  '"band  wagon,"  of  course,  but  others 
must  furnish  the  music  and  propelling  power. 

'^Every  one  of  you," — no  mjember  "is  to  be  ex- 
cused. ''Many  hands  make  light  work."  In  TI. 
Corinthians  8:  18,  14,  we  read,  'Tor  T  mean  not 
that  other  men  be  eased,  and  ye  burdened, 
but  that  there  may  he  equality."  This  reads  as 
though  Paul  knew  of  persons  who  were  inclined 
to  shirk  duty  in  this  respect,  and  thus  cause  an 


36  tjetting  and  Giving 

unnecessary  burden  to  be  laid  upon  others.  The 
fact  that  one  man  gives  a  thousand  dollars  does 
not  r-elieve  me  from  my  part  in  the  work.  This 
is  what  constitutes  equality. 

When  Jesus  saw  the  poor  widow's  offering, — 
two-fif tlis  of  an  American  cent, — he  did  not  re- 
buke her  with  the  observation  that  she  was  not 
able  to  give  anything,  or  that  her  family  needed 
all  that  she  had,  and  much  more.  I^o,  no !  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  commended  her  for  her  faith 
and  devotion,  declaring  that  she  had  given  more 
than  all  the  rest.  It  was  the  casting  in  of  her  heart 
that  enriched  the  gift  and  thrilled  the  Master  him- 
self with  delight. 

It  is  just  as  much  a  privilege  for  the  indigent  to 
give  out  of  their  deep  poverty  as  it  is  for  the  rich 
to  bestow  with  unstinted  hand.  Under  the  Mosaic 
code,  it  was  possible  for  ^'every  one''  to  make  an 
offering.  If  the  worshiper  was  too  poor  to  bring 
a  lamb  or  kid  as  a  sin  or  trespass  offering,  he 
brought  two  turtle-doves  or  two  young  pigeons ; 
if  not  so  much  as  these,  then  a  handful  of  fine 
flour  was  accepted.  Something  must  be  presented 
to  test  his  faith  and  purpose  of  heart.  So  to-day, 
the  acceptable  offering  and  worship  go  together. 
It  is  God's  own  arrangement.  ]^o  matter  if  the 
gift  is  small  and  valueless  in  the  estimation  of 
men,  the  all-wise  Father  knows  what  it  represents, 
and  has  for  the  humble,  honest  giver  a  benediction 
of  exaltation.  And  be  it  remembered  that  no 
amount  of  praying  and  talking,  or  singing  and 


Tlw   Christ 'uiii   System   of  (iirnKj  87 

shouting  can  bo  substituted  for  the  offcr'uKj  which 
is  clothed  with  such  vital  sigiiilicance. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  well  to  emphasize 
the  duty  of  Christian  parents  in  cultivating  in 
their  children  the  habit  of  giving,  for  are  they  not 
included  in  ''cA'ery  one  of  you"  ?  They  may  not 
have  of  their  o^^•n  to  lay  by,  except  as  the  parents 
plan  with  them  to  that  end,  but  by  all  means  they 
should  be  encouraged  to  make  or  save  something 
for  the  collection-box.  It  is  a  serious  mistake  for 
the  husband  and  father  to  pay  for  the  whole  fam- 
ily. True,  he  may  furnish  the  money  directly  or 
indirectly,  but  each  should  be  permitted  to  present 
his  or  her  own  offering.  Many  a  child  is  robbed 
of  the  pleasure  and  sweetness  of  giving  by  the 
thoughtlessness  of  parents  and  pastor.  Yea,  more, 
too  manv  stow  to  mature  years  without  the  least 
possible  interest  in  the  support  of  the  gospel  in 
any  way.  ''Every  one  of  you."  The  rich  must 
give  because  it  is  through  their  charities  that  the 
needy  are  to  be  supplied ;  their  gifts  are  essential 
to  the  well-being  and  happiness  of  others.  The 
poor  must  also  give,  not  only  for  the  little  help 
they  may  render  their  fellows,  but  that  they  may 
share  the  blessings  which  come  from  a  faitliful 
performance  of  duty. 


TJic  Clu'istian  System  of  Giving  30 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SYSTEM  OF  GIVING. 

''Quit  beneficence  is  as  much  a  matter  of  grace 
as  is  faith,  utterance,  knowledge,  diligence,  and 
love,  and  should  be  cultivated  and  practiced  as  we 
do  these  recognized  spiritual  gifts." — G.  F.  Pente- 
cost, D.  D. 

"Therefore,  as  ye  aboimd  in  everything,  in  faith, 
and  utterance,  and  knowledge,  and  in  all  diligence, 
and  in  yoiu'  lo^'e  to  us,  see  that  ye  abound  in  this 
grace  also." — Faid. 

"Charity  giveth  itself  rich ;  covetousness  hoard- 
eth  itself  poor." 

"Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share. 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare." 

— Lowell. 

"I  believe  that  the  diffusion  of  the  principles 
and  practice  of  systematic  beneficence  •  will  prove 
the  moral  specific  of  our  age." — Gladstone. 


27/ c  Christian  System  of  Gii'uig  41 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Christiax  System  of  Giving — Concluded. 

Ix  the  preceding  chapter  attention  was  called  to 
both  systematic  and  nniversal  giving  as  required 
under  the  gospel.  The  apostle  continues  his  argu- 
ment hj  indicating — 

3.  The  extent  of  our  giving — ''as  God  hath 
prospered  him."  By  following  this  plan  the  rich 
Avill  give  their  full  share ;  the  poor  likewise,  to  the 
extent  of  their  ability.  The  satanic  idea  is,  "Get 
all  you  can,  and  keep  all  you  can" ;  the  Christly 
idea,  ''Get  v.diat  you  honestly  can,  and  give  what 
you  A^'isely  may" ;  and  the  carrying  out  of  this  lat- 
ter principle,  so  high  and  holy,  is  made  the  duty 
of  all  Christians. 

Paul  does  not  lay  down  a  rabbinical  maxim  of  a 
tenth,  or  more,  to  guide  us  in  our  ofPerings,  but  he 
leaves  the  measure  of  every  man's  charity  to  his 
own  conscience.  It  is  a  principle,  rather  than  a 
rule,  that  he  would  establish.  Am  I  God's-  child  ? 
Then,  I  have  surrendered  myself,  my  whole  self, 
to  him.  If  his,  I  must  do  right.  Xo  tax  is  laid 
upon  me  for  religious  purposes;  no  standard  re- 
quiring any  certain  amount  is  set  up  as  a  test. 
The  appeal  is  to  my  honesty — to  my  sense  of  duty 
and  gratitude.  If  unwilling  to  obey  these  higher 
impulses,  I  unchristianize  myself,  and  stamp  with 


42  Getting  and  Giving 

falsehQod  iny  profession  of  loyalty  to  Christ.  ""As 
God  hath  prospered  him."  This  is  as  if  Paul  had 
said  to  each  Christian,  ''Ask  thyself  the  question, 
'How  much  owest  thou  unto  thy  Lord  V  "  And 
with  what  tlioughtfulness  and  honesty  should  the 
question  be  answered. 

While  under  a'race  the  individual  is  left  to  set- 
tie  for  himself  the  extent  of  his  offerings,  without 
the  constraint  of  any  written  law,  yet  with  the 
masses  the  tithe  system  is  a  good  rule  to  follow.  It 
constitutes  a  good  starting-point  in  the  scale  of 
giving.  The  man  who  gives  a  tenth,  as  a  general 
thing,  will  not  go  far  wrong.  Under  certain  con- 
ditions, however,  this  may  be  too  much;  under 
others,  much  less  than  is  required.  If  a  man  on 
a  yearly  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  can  support 
a  family  and  give  fifty  dollars,  the  young  man, 
next  door  to  him,  who  gets  the  same  wages,  and  has 
no  one  but  himself  to  provide  for,  ought  to  give 
a  good  deal  more.  If  five  persons  on  a  salary  of 
one  thousand  dollars  each  support  their  families 
and  contribute  in  the  aggregate  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, should  not  the  one  man  who  makes  five  thou- 
sand dollars  put  into  God's  cause  vastly  more  ?  In 
the  first  instance,  five  families  are  supported  out 
of  the  five  thousand  dollars ;  in  the  latter  case  only 
one  family.  Twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year 
for  benevolences  is  a  nuean  little  offering  from  tlie 
one  whose  income  is  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
One  man's  tenth  is,  in  many  instances,  more  than 
another  man's  third.     Jesus  knows  the  abilitv  of 


The  Christian  System  of  Giving  43 

every  man.  He  sits  "over  against  the  treasury" — 
in  plain  view  of  it.  If  we  really  want  to  give,  he 
kno^vs  it ;  if  we  seek  to  withhold,  he  also  knows  it. 
He  A\'eighs  in  the  same  balances  both  the  gift  and 
the  giver.  Nothing  is  concealed  from  his  all-pene- 
trating eye. 

If  a  property  owner  should  refuse  to  pay  taxes 
for  the  support  of  the  government  under  which  he 
lives,  and  which  guarantees  to  him  protection  and 
liberty,  he  would  be  considered  disloyal,  and  un- 
worthy of  its  citizenship.  Can  anything  better  be 
said  of  the  Christian,  so  called,  who-  claims  a  place 
in  the  kingdom  of  God,  enjoying  its  blessings  and 
privileges,  and  yet  refuses  to  support  that  king- 
dom ?  To  say  that  such  a  one  is  inconsistent  is 
putting  it  too  mildly.  His  very  conduct  renders 
liim  an  "alien  to  the  commonwealth  of  Israel.'' 

A  prosperous  Christian  merchant,  in  answer  to 
inquiries  about  his  method  of  giving,  says:  "In 
consecrating  my  life  anew  to  God,  aware  of  the 
ensnaring  influence  of  riches,  and  the  necessity  of 
deciding  on  a  plan  of  charity  before  wealth  should 
bias  my  judgment,  I  adopted  the  following  system : 
T  decided  to  balance  my  accounts,  as  nearly  as  I 
could,  every  month ;  and,  reserving  such  portion 
of  profits  as  might  appear  adequate  to  cover  prob- 
able losses,  to  lay  aside,  by  entry  on  a  benevolent 
account,  one-tenth  of  the  remaining  profits,  great 
or  small,  as  a  fund  for  benevolent  expenditure, 
supporting  myself  and  family  on  the  remaining 
nine-tenths.     T  further  detennined  that  if  at  anv 


44  Getting  and  Giving 

time  niy  net  protLts — tliat  is,  profits  from  which 
clerk  hire  and  store  expenses  had  been  deducted — 
should  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  in  a  month, 
I  would  give  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent. ;  if  over 
seven  hundred  dollars,  fifteen  per  cent. ;  if  over 
nine  hundred  dollars,  seventeen  and  a  half  per 
cent. ;  if  over  eleven  hundred  dollars,  twenty  per 
cent. ;  if  over  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  twenty-two 
and  a  half  per  cent. ;  thus  increasing  the  propor- 
tion of  the  whole,  as  God  should  prosper,  until,  at 
a  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars,  I  should 
give  twenty-five  per  cent.,  or  three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  dollars  per  month.  As  capital  was 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  my  success  in  busi- 
ness, I  decided  not  to  increase  the  foregoing 
scale  until  I  had  acquired  a  certain  capital,  after 
wdiich  I  would  give  one  quarter  of  all  net  profits, 
great  or  small;  and  on  the  acquisition  of  an- 
other certain  amount  of  capital,  I  decided  to 
give  half,  and  on  Inying  by  what  I  determined 
would  be  a  sufiiciency  to  run  my  business,  then 
to  give  the  whole  of  my  net  profits.  It  is  now 
several  years  since  I  adopted  this  plan,  and  under 
it  I  have  built  up  a  handsome  capital,  and  have 
been  prospered  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expec- 
tations. Although  constantly  giving,  I  have  never 
yet  touched  the  l:)ottom  of  my  fund.  This  system 
has  been  of  great  advantage  to  me,  enabling  me  to 
feel  that  my  life  is  directly  employed  for  God. 
Happy  privilege,  which  the  humblest  may  enjoy, 
of  thus  associntina'  the  common  labors  of  life  with 


The  Chy'istian  System  of  Uir'uKj  45 

the  grateful  service  of  the  iSavior,  and  of  iii,akiiig 
that  which  naturally  leads  the  heart  from  God 
subserve  the  highest  spiritual  good." 

A  minister  writes:  "1  ha\e  been  in  the  active 
work  of  the  pastorate  thirty-seven  years,  and  have 
been  an  observer  of  the  results  of  Christian  giv- 
ing, and  1  have  never  known  one  case  where  a 
Christian  faithfully  and  uniforndy  gave  conscien- 
tiously and  proportionately,  who  was  not  highly 
prospered  in  his  temporal  affairs.  These  are  the 
very  men  God  can  trust  with  earthly  goods." 

A  shoemaker  was  asked  to  explain  how  he  con- 
trived to  give  so  much  out  of  his  meager  earnings. 
He  replied  tliat  it  was  easily  done  by  obeying  the 
precept,  ""Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,"  etc. 
'^I  earn,"  said  he,  '^one  day  with  another,  about 
a  dollar  a  day,  and  I  can,  without  inconvenience 
to  myself  or  family,  lay  by  five  cents  of  this  sum 
for  charitable  purposes ;  the  amount  is  thirty  cents 
a  week.  My  \\iie  takes  in  sewing  and  washing, 
and  earns  something  like  two  dollars  a  week,  and 
lays  by  ten  cents  of  that.  My  children  each  earn 
a  shilling  or  two,  and  are  glad  to  contribute  their 
penny ;  so  that,  altogether,  we  lay  by  in  store  forty 
cents  a  week.  If  we  have  been  unusually  pros- 
perous we  give  more.  The  weekly  amount  is  de- 
posited every  Sunday  morning  in  a  box  kept  for 
that  purpose,  and  reserved  for  future  use.  Thus 
by  these  small  earninc:s,  we  have  learned  that  it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  The  yearly 
amount  saved  in  this  wav  is  about  twentv-five  dol- 


40  Getting  and  Giving 

lars, ,  wliicli  I  distribute  according  to  the  best  of 
iiiy  ability.'' 

•  "The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat/'  and  ''He 
that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself."  It 
may  require  a  stretch  of  faith  to  believe  this,  but 
a  willing,  faithful  conformity  to  the  gospel  re- 
quirements will  as  certainly  bring  to  us  a  realiza- 
tion of  its  truth. 

The  late  John  Dodds,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men 
in  the  United  Brethren  Church  and,  withal,  one  of 
its  largest  givers  in  his  day,  has  told  us  that  divid- 
ing profits  with  God  -  was  tO'  him  the  highway 
to  success  in  his  temporal  affairs.  His  own  lan- 
gmage  is,  ''The  jnore  I  made  the  more  I  gave;  and 
the  more  I  gave  the  more  I  made." 

John  Buny an  said: 

'^A  man  there  was,  some  called  him  mad ; 
The  more  he  cast  away,  the  mjore  he  had." 

Nathaniel  Cobb,  a  devoted  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist communion,  has  given  us  a  notable  example  of 
what  an  honest  heart  can  do,  aiid  of  how  a  man 
can  serve  God  with  his  money.  His  covenant  with 
Jehovah  should  be  printed  in  large  type  and  hung 
up  in  the  home  of  every  Christian  in  the  land. 
Here  it  is:  ''By  the  grace  of  God  I  will  never  be 
worth  more  than  fifty  tliousand  dollars.  By  the 
grace  of  God  I  will  give  one-fourth  of  the  net  pro- 
ceeds of  my  business  to  charitable  and  religious 
purposes.  If  I  am  ever  worth  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  I  will  give  onc-hcnlf  of  my  net  profits;  if  I 


Tlie  Christian  System  of  Giving  47 

am  ever  worth  thirty  thousand  dolhirs,  i  will  give 
three-fourths ;  and  the  whole  after  lifty  thousand 
dollars,  so  help  nie  God  or  give  to  a  more  faitlif ul 
steward  and  set  me  aside.''  By  faithfully  observ- 
ing this  covenant  he  could  say,  when  dying,  "By 
the  grace  of  God,  nothing  else,  1  have  been  enabled,^ 
under  the  influence  of  these  resolutions,  to  give 
awav  more  than  fortv  thousand  dollars.  How 
good  the  Lord  has  been  to  me  V 

What  a  joy  there  is  in  giving  for  the  good  of 
otliersl  '\\niat  a  blessed  fellowship  an  honest 
partnership  with  Jesus  brings !  How  money-mak- 
ing is  sanctified,  and  becomes  a  duty,  when  the 
end  is  to  "distribute  to  the  necessity  of  the  saints." 

When  John  Wesley's  income  was  thirty  pounds, 
he  lived  on  tAventy-eight,  and  gave  two;  when 
it  finally  arose  to  one  hundred  and  twenty,  he  still 
lived  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  all  the  remainder. 
Such  was  his  notion  of  beneficence.  !N^othing  less 
would  satisfy  his  conscience ;  nothing  less  would 
adequately  express  his  gratitude  for  mercies  re- 
ceived. While  but  few  might  feel  compelled  to 
give  as  largely  as  Mr.  Wesley  did,  yet  undoubtedly 
his  was  the  true  spirit. 

I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  many  to-day, 
of  slender  resources,  are  doing  their  full  share,  and 
more.  Like  the  Macedonian  Christians,  ^^the 
abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty"  is 
^'aboundino^  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality." 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  evident  that  tlie  great 
body  of  well-to-do  and  rich  people  do  not  under- 


48  Getting  and  Giving 

stand  tlie  measure  of  their  duty  and  privileges. 
T]iey  do  not  know  ^vhat  it  means  to  make  sacrifices 
-^to  do  without  something  which  they  really  need 
in  order  to  bless  others.  Service  and  suffering 
never  touch  at  any  point  in  their  lives. 

We  must  face  this  whole  question  in  the  fear 
of  God.  I^othing  graver  confronts  us  as  ^ve  enter 
upon  the  new  century.  A  poorly  paid  ministry, 
poorly  equipped  colleges,  a  lack  of  church-houses 
and  parsonages,  and  a  lack  of  workers  for  the  for- 
eign field,  all  emphasize  the  need  of  larger  giving. 
The  lack  of  funds  for  the  support,  of  tliese  various 
departments  of  the  church  does  not  result  from 
the  inability  of  professed  Christians  to  give,  for 
they  control  a  large  portion  of  our  country's 
wealth ;  but  it  grows  out  of  their  indifference  and 
absolute  selfishness.  They  have  the  money,  but 
will  not  give  it.  The  accumulations  of  many  have 
become  so  enormous  that  they  are  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do  with  them.  In  fact,  they  are  doing 
nothing  with  them  except  to  make  still  more  money. 
The  pittance  they  eke  out  to  the  church  is  merely 
such  as  will  give  them  standing  and  respectability 
therein ;  so  the  work  of  the  kingdom  is  hindered, 
and  the  coming  of  Jesus  delayed.  But  God,  in  his 
unerring  wisfloui,  will  put  the  responsibility  where 
it  l)elongs.  The  bank  account,  the  worth  and 
r)roducts  of  the  farm,  the  earnings  of  the  week,  the 
increase  in  stock  values,  are  all  known  to  him. 
He  understands  what  every  man  is  able  to  give, 
and  he  is  coo'nizant,  also,  of  ovovy  falsehood  told, 


The  Christian  System  of  Giving  49 

and  of  every  deception  practiced  with  the  view  of 
avoiding  financial  responsibility. 

The  cross  of  Christ  should  shame  us  out  of 
everything  like  littleness,  for  '*he  died  for  all  that 
they  which  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto 
themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for  them  and 
rose  again.''  Here  the  apostle  touches  a  chord 
which  vibrates  through  our  entire  Christian  sys- 
tem, and  awakens  a  willing,  loving  response  in 
every  soul  that  has  been  quickened  hy  the  resur- 
rection power.  Selfishness  is  impossible  where  the 
life,  without  reserve,  is  given  to  Christ. 

4.  We  are  to  give  ivillingly  and  cheerfully. 
In  II.  Corinthians  8 :  12,  it  is  written,  "For  if 
there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  accord- 
ing to  that  a  man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that 
lie  hath  not."  Also,  in  the  ninth  chapter  and  sev- 
enth verse,  we  read,  '*Everv  man  accordins;  as  he 
purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give,  not  gTudg- 
ingly,  or  of  necessity,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver." 

If  we  substitute  the  word  "hilarious"  for  "cheer- 
ful," we  shall  get  a  little  clearer  view  of  the  apos- 
tle's thought,  and  of  the  spirit  in  which  OTir  offer- 
ings should  be  made.  An  exuberance  of  joy — 
feelings  of  intense  delighti — should  acconiipany 
every  gift  which  carries  Avith  it  a  blessing  for 
others.  King  David,  in  recounting  the  liberality 
of  his  people  when  they  were  gathering  materials 
for  the  temple,  uses  the  expression,  "Offered  Avill- 
ingly,"  six  times  in  the  first  seventeen  verses  of 


50  Getting  and  Giving 

the  twenty-nintJi  chapter  of  First  Chronicles;  and 
the  same  expression,  or  its  equivalent,  is  found 
eight  times  in  the  thirty-fifth  and  tliirty-sixth  chap- 
ters of  Exodus,  in  connection  with  the  building  of 
the  tabernacle.  ''Offered  ivillinghj T  God  does 
not  look  so  much  at  the  magnitude  of  the  gift  as 
he  does  at  the  willingness  with  which  it  is  given, 
and  the  relation  it  bears  to  the  means  of  the  giver. 
With  us  the  question  is.  How  much  did  tlie  hand 
give  ?  With  God  the  inquiry  is.  How  much  did  the 
heart  give  ? 

Among  the  Jews  was  the  saying,  ^^In  all  tliy 
gifts  show  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  dedicate 
tliy  tithes  with  gladness.''  ^"J^ot  grudgingly,"  or, 
"!N^ot  of  grief,"  as  a  better  rendering  would  make 
it  read.  Sometimes  men  give  and  then  grieve  over 
it,  wishing  for  their  money  back  again.  For  such 
givers  there  is  no  blessing.  !N^o  individual,  pos- 
sessed of  tlie  finer  feelings  of  the  true  lady  or  gen- 
tleman, would  receive  a  gift  from  a  friend  if  pre- 
sented in  such  a  spirit.  In  Tahiti,  when  O'fferings 
were  asked  for  the  cause  of  missions,  a  native 
brought  a  quantity  of  cocoanut  oil  to  the  queen  in 
a  bad  spirit,  saying,  "'Here  are  five  bamboos  of  oil ; 
take  them  for  your  society."  ^^^o,"  said  the 
queen,  ^^I  will  not  mix  your  angry  bamboos  Avith 
the  missionary  oil ;  take  them  away."  Cheerful- 
ness invariably  adds  value  to  the  offering,  ^"l^or 
of  necessity."  Too  many,  it  is  to  be  feared,  give 
only  in  this  way.  Like  a  sponge,  they  never  re- 
spond except  when  squeezed.     It  is  not  in  their 


Hie  Christian  System  of  Giving  51 

hearts  to  give,  but  they  do  so  simply  to  keep  pace 
with  their  neighbors,  or  to  maintain  a  respectable 
standinii,'  in  tlie  chnrch  and  communiTv  in  which 
they  live. 

If  a  man  contributes  one  hundred  dollars  under 
pressure,  ^^'hen  he  only  wants  to  give  twenty-five, 
he  may  expect  credit  in  God's  book  for  only  one 
dollar  in  four — the  exact  amount  which  the  heart 
gives. 

I  tliink  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  cheerful, 
^^'illing  givers  are  the  happiest  people  on  earth. 
Their  roseate  natures  make  them  centers  from 
which  good  cheer  radiates  in  every  direction.  Liv- 
ing as  they  do,  far  up  in  the  mount  of  beatitudes, 
they  have  learned  the  divine  art  of  bestowing  upon 
others,  in  no  small  degree,  the  spirit  and  blessings 
which  the  Christ  so  lovingly  imparts  to  them. 

How  glorious  the  gospel  method  of  giving!  Xo 
constraint  is  placed  about  us.  "Every  man  as  he 
purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give."  Hoiu  just 
the  principle  I  "As  God  hath  prospered  him.'' 
'^According  to  that  a  man  hath,  and  not  according 
to  that  he  hath  not." 

How  siceet  and  tender  the  motives  appealed  to! 
"For  ye  kno^\'  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  be- 
come poor,  that  ye  through  his  poverty  might  be 
rich."  "Thanks  be  unto  God  for  the  unspeakable 
gift."  To  give  with  the  thought  of  receiving  in 
kind  is  selfish ;  it  is  putting  strange  fire  on  God's 
altar.     The  great  apostle  ])oints  us  to  the  exalted 


52  Getting  and  Giving 

Savior  as  our  example,  and  apj^eals  to  our  love  for 
him  as  the  ground  of  our  ofterings. 
/  How  gracious  the  encouragement !  ''And  God 
is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound  toward  you ;  that 
ye,  always  having  all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  may 
abound  to  every  good  work,  .  .  .  being  en- 
riched in  everything  to  all  bountifulness." 

But,  alas  !  how  few  are  measuring  wp  to  the  gos- 
pel plan.  HoAv  few  really  know,  from  experience, 
the  blessedness  of  taking  God  at  his  word,  and  of 
rendering  to  him  that  willing,  joyous  service  w^hich 
only  the  faithful  ste^^'ar.d  can  give.  The  great 
body  of  church  people  have  barely  reached  the 
borderland  of  true  beneficence ;  and  no  problem 
thrust  upon  the  pulpit  to-day  is  more  serious  than 
that  of  leading  them  away  from  worldly  methods 
and  ideals  into  that  larger  field  of  giving  so 
clear Iv  indicated  by  Paul  in  his  instructions  to 
the  Corinthian  church. 


The  Harvest 


THE  HAEVEST. 

'^To  PRAY  for  a  harvest,  and  yet  refuse  the  seed 
for  the  necessary  sowing,  wouLl  be  the  height  of 
folly.  To  expect  an  abundant  har\^est  while  sow- 
ing with  a  meager  and  sparing  hand  is  to  expect 
God  and  nature  to  contradict  themselves." — G.  F. 
Pentecost,  D.  D. 

'']\ry  God  shall  supply  all  your  need  according 
to  his  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus." — Paul. 

''The  property  we  spend  upon  ourselves  perishes 
in  the  using;  the  property  we  spend  upon  Christ 
becomes  a  part  of  the  inheritance  incorruptible,  un- 
defiled,  and  that  fadetli  not  away." — Hugh  Mac- 
Millan. 

On  an  old  monument  in  the  parish  of  Leek,  Staf- 
fordshire, England,  is  written : 

"As  1  was,  so  be  ye ; 
As  I  am,  ye  shall  be ; 
That  I  gave,  that  I  have ; 
Wliat  I  spent,  that  I  had. 
Thus  I  end  all  mv  cost : 
What  I  left,  that'l  lost." 

"Money  cannot  buy  peace,  an  easy  conscience, 
victorv  in  death,  or  onve  us  back  the  vears  tliat  are 


54  Getting  and  Giving 

lost.  Money  cannot  redeem  a  ruined  soul.  It  can, 
however,  be  transmuted  into  a  glorious,  eternal  re- 
ward if  consecrated  to  God  and  rightly  used  in  his 
service." — Rev.  G.  W.  Arnold. 


The  Harvest  55 


CHAPTEK  V. 
The  Harvest. 

"But  tliis  I  say,  He  that  soweth  sparingly  shall 
reap  also  spariiigiy,  and  he  that  soweth  hounrif  ully 
shall  reap  also  bountifully"  (II.  Corinthians  0  :  (3). 
This  should  be  given  the  broadest  interpretation, 
and  applied,  not  only  to  the  present  time,  but  as 
well  to  the  life  to  come.  The  metaphor  of  the 
harvest  implies  tliat  the  more  generous  the  gift^ 
the  richer  the  reward. 

The  relationship  bet^veen  seed-sowing  in  spring- 
time, and  the  harvest-gathering  in  autumn,  is 
clear.  One  implies  the  other.  The  husbandman 
spares  not  the  seed,  but  casts  it  into  the  earth. 
There  is  no  other  way,  if  he  would  gatlier  a  har- 
vest. It  requires  patience  to  wait,  but  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  the  sickle  is  thrust  in  and  the  grain 
garnered.  On  the  same  principle,  we  make  our 
money  yield  the  richest  fruitage,  both  here  and 
hereafter.  Like  the  seed  deposited  in  the  soil,  we 
may,  for  tlie  time,  lose  sight  of  it ;  we  may  have  to 
wait  in  faith,  but  as  certainly  as  God  reigns,  and 
is  just,  he  \vi\\  cause  it  to  bear  fruit.  Xor  should 
we  forget  that  the  reaping,  whether  in  natural  or 
spiritual  things,  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  seed 
sown.  "He  that  soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  also 
bountifully."     "Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters ; 


56  Getting  and  Giving 

for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days."  If  much 
is  found,  it  will  be  because,  with  unstinted  hand, 
it  was  cast  upon  the  waters. 

The  connection  between  onr  benevolence  here 
and  the  enjoyment  of  the  life  beyond  should  be 
given  tremendous  emphasis  in  the  discussion  of  the 
money  question.  '^Charge  them  that  are  rich  in 
this  world,  that  they  be  not  high-minded,  nor  trust 
in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God,  who 
giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy;  that  they  do 
good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  dis- 
tribute, willing  to  communicate,  laying  up  in  store 
for  thew.selves  a  good  foundation  against  the  time 
to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life'* 
(I.  Timothy  6:  17-19).  Here  it  is  stated  clearly 
that  if  we  trust  ''in  the  living  God,"  the  bestow- 
ment  of  our  temporalities  upon  others  for  their 
good  is  a  sure  way  of  laying  up  for  ourselves  '^a 
good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come,"  and  of 
securing  the  blessings  and  enjoyment  of  the  im- 
mortal life.  We  are  to  be  saved  through  faith,  but 
rewarded  according  to  our  works. 

Our  attitude  to^vard  the  worthy  poor,  whoever 
or  wherever  they  may  be,  determines  very  largely 
our  relations  to  God,  and  will  influence,  in  no  small 
degree,  the  verdict  of  the  Judge  when  the  final 
reckoning  comes.  Tn  Matlliew,  twenty-fifth  chap- 
ter, Jesus  gives  a  most  vivid  description  of  the 
judgment  day.  The  Son  of  man  has  come  in 
glory  and  majesty,  with  all  his  holy  angels,  and 
is  seated  upon  his  throne.     The  nations  of  earth, 


The  Han- est  57 

assembled  before  him  for  trial,  have  been  separated 
'^as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats." 
To  the  good  on  his  right  hand  he  says,  ""Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. '^ 
But  why  are  they  the  blessed  of  the  Father  ?  Why 
heirs  to  an  everlasting  kingdom  ?  j^ot  simply  be- 
cause they  professed  religion  and  belonged  to 
church  in  this  world ;  not  because  they  stood  high 
in  social  and  literarv  circles :  not  because  thev  con- 
trolled  gi'eat  estates.  Xo,  not  for  any  of  these  rea- 
sons. Let  the  Judge  himself  answer.  "For  I  was 
an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye 
took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick, 
and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me."  But  I  hear  a  great  chorus  of  voices  in- 
quiring, "Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered, 
and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink  ? 
When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ? 
Or  naked,  and  clothed  thee  ?  or  when  saw  we  thee 
sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?"  Hear 
the  reply;  it  is  one  that  goes  to  the  very  core  of 
practical  Christianity,  and  reveals  the  divine  ideal 
of  ser\dce.  "Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

It  requires  more  than  mere  sy!npathy  or  expres- 
sions of  good  will  to  feed  the  liungry,  and 
to  administer  to  the  sick.  Money  is  necessary ; 
and  money  thus  spent  becomes  a  '^laid  up  treas- 


58  Getting  and  Giving 

ure."  AVhen  transmuted  into  .food  for  tlie  starv- 
ing, and  into  shelter  for  the  homeless,  it  has  the 
stamp  of  Heaven's  mint  put  upon  it,  transforming 
it  into  a  celestial  commodity  exchangeable  for 
spiritual  blessings. 

When  the  rich  young  ruler  inquired  as  to  what 
he  should  do  to  obtain  eternal  life,  Jesus  said,  '^If 
thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast, 
and  give  to  the  poor,  an(]  thou  shalt  have  treasure 
in  heaven."  Just  two  objects  were  presented — 
the  poor  in  this  world,  and  tlie  imperishable  treas- 
ures in  the  world  to  come.  The  answer  made  by 
the  Savior  was  as  if  he  had  said,  ^'If  you  would 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  unending  life  yonder, 
see  to  it  that  your  money  is  employed  in  a  way  to 
make  sweeter  and  more  joyous  the  lives  of  the  poor 
about  you."  ^'But  when  the  young  man  heard 
that  saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful;  for  he  had 
great  possessions." 

The  rich  man  described  in  Luke,  sixteenth  chap- 
ter, did  not  miss  heaven  because  he  had  vast  pos- 
sessions, for  it  is  no  sin  to  be  rich ;  not  because  he 
had  neglected  to  join  the  church,  for  no  doubt  he 
was  a  member  in  good  standing,  observing  its  rit- 
uals, and  living  up  to  its  creed;  but  he  was  lost 
because- he  lacked  sympathy  for  the  poor,  and  was 
unwilling  to  share  his  abundance  with  such  a  one 
as  Lazarus,  who  was  daily  laid  at  his  gate.  ^'He 
that  hath  pity  upon  the  poor  lendeth  unto  the 
Lord" ;  but  this  man  was  afraid  of  the  security, 
and  refused  to  invest. 


The  Hawed  59 

An  old  poem  describes  a  Christian  soldier  of  im- 
perial Rome  who  ^vas  known  as  Saint  Martin. 
Once  upon  a  time  he  was  met  by  a  poor  beggar  who 
was  almost  frozen,  and  having  nothing  else  to  give 
him,  he  cut  his  soldier-cloak  in  two  and  wrapped 
the  red  robe  around  the  shivering  stranger.  That 
night  Martin  dreamed  that  he  was  in  heaven  and 
saw  the  Savior  standing  among  the  angels  in  a  red 
robe  just  like  his  former  cloak.  But  it  appeared 
so  beautiful;  he  had  never  seen  anything  to  com- 
pare with  it  before.  One  of  the  angels  ventured 
to  ask  him  where  he  got  the  glorious  garment, 
whereupon  the  Master  pointed  to  the  soldier,  say- 
ing, ''My  brother  Martin  gave  it  to  me."  This 
was  enough.  All  heaven  burst  into  praise,  and 
hallelujahs  resounded  far  and  near.  Then  Saint 
Martin  awoke  full  of  joy,  and  remembered  the 
poor  beggar  upon  whom,  in  Jesus'  name,  he  had 
bestOAved  the  humble  gift.  How  charmingly  beau- 
tiful the  lesson !  Loving  and  helping  others  up  to 
the  point  of  absolute  sacrifice  is  one  way,  if  not  the 
only  way,  of  fcllowshiping  Jesus  in  his  sufferings, 
and  of  makins^  sure  the  reward  of  heaven. 

The  Princess  Eugenia  went  to  a  certain  island 
for  her  health.  When  once  there  her  queenly  heart 
was  touched  and  stirred  by  scenes  of  poverty,  afflic- 
tion, and  death  on  all  sides.  She  soon  decided  to 
build  a  hospital  for  the  poor  sufferers,  and  began 
the  work;  but  ere  long  she  found  her  means  ex- 
hausted. One  thing  only  was  left  to  do,  and  that 
was  to  sell  her  crown  jewels — precious  heirlooms 


60  Getting  and  Giving 

that  liad  come  down  to  her  tlirougii  generations.. 
At  first  lier  brotlier,  to  whom  she  wrote,  refused 
t6  send  them;  bnt  the  next  time  she  begged  him 
in  Jesus'  name  to  grant  the  request.  They  were 
used  in  completing  the  noble  undertaking.  One 
day  as  she  was  passing  through  the  hospital  she 
entered  a  room  wliere  lay  a  dying  woman.  Sitting 
down  by  her  cot,  the  poor  woman  arose  on  her 
elbow,  and  taking  tlie  hand  of  the  princess  in  hers, 
kissed  it  again  and  again,  wdiile  tears  of  gratitude 
fell  upon  it.  ''Oh,  I  am  so  glad  you  came,"  she 
said,  ^'for  if  you  had  not  come  I  should  never  have 
heard  of  Jesus,  and  could  not  have  died  as  I  now" 
die,"  and  then  fell  back  exhausted.  As  the  noble 
princess  looked  at  the  tears  on  her  hand,  which 
fairly  sparkled  as  the  sunlight  fell  on  them,  she 
burst  into  tears  lierself,  saying,  '^I  have  found  my 
jewels  again."  Every  dollar  honestly  given  to  the 
cause  of  humanity  goes  into  the  diadem  of  King 
Jesus,  and  will  be  found  again  when  we  see  him 
in  his  beauty. 

It  is  related  that  after  the  great  fire  which  so 
nearly  destroyed  Chicago,  tliree  friends  met.,  two 
of  whom  had  lost  all  in  the  flames.  One  of  the  im- 
fortunates  said  to  the  other  two,  '^Well,  thank  God 
there  was  some  of  my  money  placed  ivho'c  it  couM. 
not  hum" ;  then  turning  away  he  went  cheerfully 
about  the  work  of  building  up  a  new  business.  His 
brother  in  misfortune  turned  to  his  comipanion 
with  the  remark,  ^^That  man  gave  away  last  year 
nearlv  a  million  dollars,  and  if  I  had  not  been  a 


The  Harvest  CI 

fool  1  should  liin-c  done  the  same  thing."  Nearly 
a  million  dollars  in  one  year  placed  beyond  the 
reacli  of  fire  and  storm  and  flood!  Glorious 
thought!  And,  best  of  all,  these  gifts,  so  cheer- 
fully put  upon  the  altar  of  service  for  the  sake  of 
others,  will  remain  safe  in  God's  own  keeping  amid 
the  Unal  conflagration — a  treasure  to  be  enjoyed 
forcA'er. 

The  final  issue  of  Christian  stewardship  will 
come  at  the  end  of  all  human  affairs,  when  ^'all 
getting  and  giving  for  God's  glory,  all  prayerful- 
ness  and  consecration,  all  unselfishness  and  liber- 
ality and  self-sacrifice,  whether  by  those  who  have 
little,  or  by  those  who  have  much,  will  be  remem- 
l)ered  by  the  Lord  of  those  servants."  Blessed 
those  stewards  to  wdiom  the  King  shall  say,  '^Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  ser\^ant,  thou  wast  faith- 
ful over  a  little,  I  have  set  thee  over  much,  enter 
into  the  joy  of  the  Lord." 

The  good  Eobert  Hall  wrote :  "Tt  is  a  base  thing 
to  get  goods  to  keep  them.  I  see  that  God,  who 
only  is  infinitely  rich,  holdeth  nothing  in  his  own 
bands  (for  himself),  but  gives  all  to  his  creatures. 
But,  if  we  need  to  lay  up,  where  should  we  rather 
repose  it  than  in  the  treasury  of  Christ  ?  All  my 
superfluity  shall  be  there  hoarded  up,  where  I  know 
it  ^vill  be  safely  kept  and  surely  returned  to  me." 


^Yrong  MctJiods  of  lidisiiH/  Money  63 


WROXG  METHODS  OF  RAISING  MO]SrEY. 

"Worldly  money-making  schemes  should  be 
banished  from  the  Lord's  house  with  all  the  indig- 
nation and  zeal  with  w]iich  Christ  drove  the 
money-changers  from  the  temple.  Away  with 
evervthino;  from  the  church  that  is  a  mere  trick  to 
get  money,  the  influence  of  which  is  to  crowd  out 
the  true  exercise  of  stewardship." — Cook. 

''This  whole  system  of  supporting  religion  by 
the  sale  of  neighborhood  trumpery  and  the  giving 
of  entertainments  and  grand  carnivals  is  a  fraud. 
It  is  almost  like  sending  Christ  out  begging  bread 
from  his  enemies.  When  the  blood -bought  church 
of  God,  with  all  her  store  of  wealth,  resorts  to  such 
miserable  shifts  to  get  help  from  the  world,  what 
must  worldlings,  with  their  lavish  outlay  for  the 
pleasure  of  sin,  think  of  the  value  of  our  salva- 
tion ?'■ — E.  P.  Marvin. 

''There  is  nothing  that  stands  more  in"  need  of 
Christianizing  than  tlie  secular  affairs  of  many  of 
our  churches." 


Wronfj  Mcfhods  of  Raising  Money  G5 


CHAPTER  YI. 
Wrong  Methods  of  Raising  Money. 

I  HAVE  already  emphasized  God's  plan  of  secur- 
ing funds  for  the  work  of  his  church.  "Every 
one"  is  to  give  voluntarily,  or  with  "a  willing 
mind,"  according  to  ability;  ''not  grudgingly,  or 
of  necessity."  ^'ory  many  of  the  devices  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  replenishing  the  sacred  treas- 
ury are  so  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
and  so  obnoxious  to  the  moral  sense  of  tlie  more 
thoughtful  and  devout  in  the  church,  that  they 
should  not  be  tolerated  for  a  moment.  Giving, 
like  prayer  or  holy  song,  is  an  act  of  worship.  It 
is  so  recognized  all  through  the  Bible.  Any 
method,  tlierefore,  which  robs  it  of  the  element  of 
worship  is  a  perversion  of  God's  plan,  and  must,  in 
the  end,  prove  a  detriuient  to  his  cause. 

The  theory  that  '*the  end  sanctifies  the  means," 
is  tlie  rankest  heresy,  and  is  advocated  and  prac- 
ticed only  by  those  who  are  unscrupulous  in  the 
means  they  employ.  Such  schemes  for  money- 
getting  as  fairs,  festivals,  entertainments,  games, 
and  the  like,  bear  no  relation  whatever  to  benevo- 
lence. Liberality  is  not  measured  by  any  such 
standard.  They  do  not  teach  generosity.  The  ap- 
peal is  not  to  the  better  nature,  but  ratlier  to  the 
appetite,  the  lower  nature ;  hence  multitudes  are 


^6  Getting  arid  Giving 

drawn  to  these  tilings  and  led  to  ''contribute,"  not 
because  tliey  loA^e  tlie  Savior  or  have  any  interest 
whatever  in  his  cause,  but  for  the  reason  that  they 
are  promised  something  good  to  eat,  or  a  program 
tliat  will  amuse  and  entertain.  God's  church  is 
not  a  pauper  that  it  should  beg,  or  cater  to  the  de- 
mands of  a  wicked  world  in  order  to  get  its  money. 

Would  I  ask  "outsiders''  for  help  ?  Most  assur- 
edly ;  but  I  would  appeal  to  their  intelligence  and 
sense  of  right.  Their  obligations  to  Christianity 
should  be  clearly  set  before  them.  The  blessings 
they  enjoy,  of  whatever  nature,  are  the  fruits  of 
our  Christian  civilization.  These  facts,  mth  otli- 
ers  that  might  be  enumerated,  certainly  ought  to 
furnish  sufficient  argument  when  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  appeal  to  them  for  aid.  Eather  than  resort 
to  secondary,  or  questionable  methods  to  draw 
from  them  a  few  dimes  or  dollars,  they  might  keep 
their  money ;  for  certain  it  is  that  such  funds  have 
no  place  in  God's  treasury.  Such  contributions, 
if  they  may  be  so  called,  can  prove  of  no  value  to 
those  who  make  them,  because  they  are  given  in  the 
w^rong  spirit,  and  from  wrong  motives. 

These  false  methods,  in  many  instances,  encour- 
age covetousness,  as  they  relievo  the  well-to-do 
church  people  from  giving  to  the  full  measure  of 
their  ability.  If  the  good  sisters  will  plan  for  sup- 
pers and  festivals,  go  out  and  beg  the  food  needed 
to  feed  the  people,  and,  by  one  device  or  another, 
get  the  sinners  of  the  neighborhood  to  eat  and  pay 
for  it,  why  should  the  membership  give  largelv? 


11  ran  (J  McIIhjcIs  of  liaising  Money  GT 

If  the  "uucireuiucised"  can  be  induced  to  foot  the 
church's  bills,  and  keep  its  exchequer  replenished, 
there  would  seem  to  be  no  special  call  for  sacrific- 
ing on  anybody's  part.  In  hundreds  of  conirreira- 
tions  where  these  schemes  are  employed,  there  may 
be  found  individual  members  who  are  abundantly 
able  to  meet  every  lawful  demand,  and  that,  too, 
without  givino-  up  a  single  comfort,  or  witlidrawing 
a  single  dollar  from  the  capital  required  to  run 
their  business.  But  they  will  never  do  their  duty, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  nor  have  occasion  to  'lo  it,  so  long 
as  pastors  and  others  encourage  such  infractions 
of  the  divine  laAv. 

"A\liatever  tends  to  check  the  growth  of  liber- 
ality is  an  evil  of  tremendous  proportions,  since  it 
strikes  at  the  center  of  operations,  and  is  followed 
by  a  general  paralysis  of  religious  activities.''  If 
we  are  so  thoughtless  as  to  discard  the  motives  and 
methods  of  Christianity,  we  shall  look  in  vain  for 
its  fruits.  The  system  of  indirectly  securing 
money  for  sacred  purposes  displaces,  largely,  that 
free,  liealthy  exercise  of  vital  forces  which  yields 
tlie  glorious  fruits  of  beneficence. 

It  is  a  grave  mistake  for  an,\'  church  to  resolve 
itself  into  a  mere  financial  organization.  Conse- 
craterl  money,  to  be  sure,  is  essential  to  success  in 
every  line  of  its  work,  but  the  church  exists  for  a 
higher  and  nobler  purpose  than  that  of  ?noney-get- 
ting;  and  if  this  purpose  is  faithfully  subserved, 
and  the  people  are  won  and  save<l,  the  financial 
problem  will  be  easily  solved. 


68  (letting  and  Giving 

Dr.  George  F.  Pentecost^  tJie  great  evangelist, 
hsis  tJiis  to  say  respecting  worldly  methods  of  rais- 
ing money:  "In  almost  every  town  and  city  where 
we  have  gone  preaching  the  word,  and  to  conduct 
evangelistic  services,  we  have  found  that  these 
things  have  eaten  the  life  out  of  the  church,  and, 
in  genera],  prostituted  the  society  and  organiza- 
tions to  the  end  of  fleshly  lusts  and  covetousness. 
In  one  city,  recently,  we  found  that  in  more  than 
one  church  tliese  things  were  being  run  up  to  the 
very  last  day  before  the  meetings  began;  and  be- 
fore the  meetings  closed,  committees  were  in  con- 
ference arranging  for  the  inauguration  of  others 
of  the  same  kind  to  be  taken  up  as  soon  as  the 
town  was  clear  of  the  evangelists,  and  the  special 
meetings,  (which  had  interrupted  the  progress  of 
vanity  fair,)  were  closed.  I  am  free  to  lay  it  down 
as  a  proposition  not  to  be  refuted  tliat,  in  any 
church  where  these  things  are  indulged,  the  work 
of  converting  sinners  and  sanctifying  the  saints 
cannot  go  forward,  except  at  the  feeblest  and  most 
languid  pace,  if  at  all." 

The  same  view  was  held  by  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon, 
the  model  preacher  and  soul-winner  of  the  last 
quarter  of  the  century  just  closed.  He  says: 
^'The  nineteenth  century  is  repeating  the  folly  of 
the  fourth  century  in  its  prodigious  effort  to  win 
the  world  by  conforming  to  the  world.  Fairs  and 
festivals  and  feasts,  amusements  and  amateur  the- 
atricals, and  all  kinds  of  literary  and  social  enter- 
tainments, have  come  in  as  did  the  heathen  fes- 


Wrong  Methods  of  Halsituj  Monci/  09 

tivals  ill  the  beginiiiiig.  AVlieii  we  see  whereunto 
all  this  is  tending, — the  disgraceful  secularizing 
and  demoralizing  of  the  church  of  Christ, — it  is 
time  for  somebody  to  call  a  halt." 

These  sentiments,  so  vigorously  expressed,  ha\e 
the  unqualified  endorsement  of  the  more  spiritual 
among  church  peojile  everywhere,  many  of  Avhoni 
have  grown  weary  of  the  w^orldly  expedients  re- 
sorted to  in  raising  money,  and  yearn  for  a  better 
way;  yet  for  fear  of  being  looked  upon  as  indif- 
ferent to  the  cliurch's  interests,  they  submit  to  wdiat 
they  are  coiiA'inced  is  questionable,  and  give  it  their 
support.  Talk  with  the  members  of  almost  any 
Ladies'  Aid  Society,  through  wdiose  unceasing  ef- 
forts the  funds  needed  to  run  the  church  are  pro- 
vided, and  two  out  of  every  tliree  are  opposed  to 
such  methods.  Deep  dow^n  in  their  hearts  is  the 
feeling  that  the  whole  business  is  wrong,  and 
should  not  be  countenanced.  They  will  also  tell 
you  that  they  would  prefer  to  pay  their  individual 
proportion  of  the  money  needed  than  to  enter  into 
schemes  wdiich  involve  so  much  worry  and  slavish 
toil ;  but  they  must  submit  to  those  w^hose  genius  is 
ever  inventing  some  new  plan  by  w^hich  the  unw^ary 
among  sinners  may  be  decoyed,  and  thus  fleeced 
of  the  last  cent  possible.  This  policy,  which  is  so 
directly  opposed  to  God's  plan,  and  which  so  fre- 
quently leads  to  the  desecration  of  the  holy  sanc- 
tuary, turning  it  into  a  trading-mart,  and  some- 
times, I  fear,  into  a  veritable  ^'den  of  thieves,"  is 
responsible,  in  no  small  measure,  for  the  inglorious 


70  Getting  and  Giving 

defeats  ^xe  oftiiiies  experience  in  our  efforts  to  pro- 
mote spirituality  among  the  people. 

The  materialistic  tendency  of  tliis  age  is  alarm- 
ing. A  spirit  of  conynercialism  permeates  the 
church.  In  many  a  congregation  where  the  ques- 
tion of  saving  souls  is  once  raised,  that  of  secur- 
ing money  is  discussed  a  dozen  times.  It  abso- 
lutely absorbs  every  other  consideration.  It  is  no 
uncommon  tiling  to  hear  a  minister,  before  reading 
his  text,  announce  a  bazaar,  festival,  and  enter- 
tainment,— all  to  be  held  in  the  interest  of  his 
church, — and  urge  a  large  attendance  upon  each 
and  all  of  the  occasions.  The  prayer-meeting  al- 
most deserted;  the  class-meeting  a  thing  of  the 
past;  the  temple  of  worship  not  half  filled  at  the 
preaching  servdces ;  but  these  unscriptural,  faith- 
dishonoring  schemes  are  emphasized  and  fairly 
glorified  because,  forsooth,  there  is  money  in  them. 
l^o  wonder  intelligent  people  of  the  world  grow 
skeptical  in  view  of  such  inconsistencies!  Xo 
wonder  they  are  hard  to  reach  and  win  and  save! 

Imagine  the  Savior  standing  in  one  of  our  pul- 
pits and  announcing  a  ^'Merchants'  Drill,''  to  be 
held  in  the  church  and  to  l)e  participated  in  by 
twoscore  young  ladies,  dressed  in  fancy  costumes. 
Think  of  Paul  closing  a  revival  because  a  Japan- 
ese ba^nar  liad  been  arranged  to  pay  the  janitor, 
and  to  buy  a  Christmas  treat  for  the  Sunday 
school.  Think  of  John  at  a  "Mum  Social,"  or  of 
Peter  giving  a  dramatic  reading  in  the  temple,  or 
of  Phoebe  arranging  for  a  '^Xe^ktie  Party,"  to  pay 


Wrong  Methods  of  Raising  Mo7iey  71 

lier  expenses  to  Rome.     No  saint  of  Bible  times 
was  ever  guilty  of  suoli  worldliness. 

Dr.  Sylvanus  Stall  contributes  this  historical  in- 
formation: "After  the  church  of  Rome  had 
preached  against  the  God-ordained  law  of  the  titlie, 
it  found  itself  in  tlie  pitiable  plight  of  poverty\  To 
escape  from  the  sad,  but  inevitable  consequences  of 
its  sin,  it  sought  to  replenish  its  empty  coffers  by 
introducing  pilgrimages  to  its  thousand  shrines, 
with  bones  of  saints,  sacred  relics,  and  pretended 
miracles.  The  divine  law  was  supplanted  by  the 
sale  of  indulgences,  and  giving,  as  an  act  of  wor- 
ship, found  its  place  usurped  by  lotteries,  festivals, 
shows,  theaters,  and  eveiy  device  by  which  priest- 
craft could  extort  money  from  a  people  ignorant 
of  God's  Word."  W.  O.  Fries,  D.  D.,  referring  to 
this  extract  from  Doctor  Stall,  pertinently  re- 
marks: '^Protestant  churches,  unfortunately,  have 
adopted  some  of  the  unscriptural  and  iniquitous 
plans  for  raising  money,  and,  as  a  result,  we  see 
many  of  our  churches  holding  fairs,  suppers, 
dramas,  tableaux,  shows,  exhibitions,  and  various 
other  tilings,  which  are  often  ruinous  both  to  the 
financial  and  spiritual  prosperity  of  the-  church." 
The  Xew  York  Sun  mercilessly  arraigns  some  of 
the  churches  of  the  metropolis  for  their  vicious 
methods  of  raising  money,  and  the  little  reverence 
they  show  for  God's  house.  The  editonal,  in  con- 
cluding, says:  "It  is  certainly  painfully  unpleas- 
ant to  all  true  followers  of  the  simple,  chaste,  yet 
dignified  Christ,  and  to  all  churches  which  still  pos- 


72  (.retting  and  Giving 

sess  a  modicum  of  his  spirit,  to  learn  tliat  or- 
ganizations calling  tliemselves  Christian  churches, 
and  men  calling  themselves  ministers  of  Christ, 
^vill  stoop  to  such  palpable  buffoonery.  There  is 
certainly  need  of  some  one  to  cleanse  these  modern 
temples  in  the  metropolis  of  our  country  and  else- 
where as  the  Master  cleansed  the  temple  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  say,  'It  is  written,  my  house  shall  be 
called  a  house  of  prayer,  but  ye  have  made  it  a 
place  of  pleasure  and  amusement.'  ''  With  the 
voice  of  a  trumpet  should  we  proclaim  against 
these  things.  The  church- of  the  risen  Savior  can- 
not aiford  to  depend  upon  the  world's  bounty,  nor 
adopt  its  methods  in  the  conduct  of  divine  affairs. 
Rev.  J.  S.  Kendall,  a  member  of  the  East  Ohio 
Conference,  United  Brethren  Church,  went  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  few  years  ago  and  established  a 
mission.  He  at  once  decided  to  follow  the  Bible 
plan  in  running  his  finances,  nor  did  he  fail. 
Without  aid  from  his  cc^nference,  or  any  of  the 
general  boards,  his  handful  of  poor  members  built 
a  church  and  are  paying  for  it.  In  addition  to 
local  current  expenses,  including  one  thousand  and 
twenty-nine  dollars  to  the  pastor,  this  little  band  of 
eighty-eight  members  gave  to  missions  last  year 
(1002)  two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  and  for 
all  purposes  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  dollars.  In  response  tO'  an  inquiry  as  to 
whether  his  people  resorted  to  any  of  the  modern 
tactics  for  raisiuc:  their  church  expenses,  Mr.  Ken- 
dall replied:     ''Emphntlcally.  No.     Aud  I  wish  I  ^ 


Wrong  Meiliod  of  Raising  Money  73 

could  say  it  loud  enough  for  tlie  whole  church  to 
hear.  We  must  make  giving  a  matter  of  worship, 
keeping  before  the  people  the  Bible  idea — "And 
none  shall  appear  before  me  empty."  Make  all 
offerings  frecicill,  with  the  thought,  'Thou  God 
seest  me.'  " 

Eev.  S.  S.  Hough,  pastor  of  the  Second  United 
Brethren  Church  in  Altoona,  Pennsylvania,  suc- 
ceeded years  ago  in  leading  his  people  to  adopt 
the  scriptural  method  of  giving.  He  says:  ''The 
only  successful  way  of  raising  church  money,  in 
my  judgment,  is  to  give  it,  and  get  others  to  give, 
as  an  act  of  allegiance  to  our  Lord — an  expression 
of  our  love  of  partnership.  We  are  too  busy  plan- 
ning for  the  best  use  of  the  increasing  funds  which 
the  Lord  is  putting  into  our  hands  to  give  any 
thought  wliatever  to  raising  money  by  secondary 
agencies."  The  membership  of  this  church  is 
made  up  of  day-laborers,  but  few  of  whom  own 
their  own  homes,  yet  tliey  meet  all  local  expenses, 
about  three  thousand  dollars  this  year  (1903),  pay 
the  conference  assessments,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  give  six  hundred  dollars  to  missions  gen- 
eral, t^vo  hundred  dollars  toward  supporting  a  con- 
ference missionary,  besides  paying  five  hundred 
dollars  toward  the  support  of  a  missionary  in 
Japan.  How  is  this  all  done?  By  a  voluntary, 
systematic  method.  !N'o  other  will  succeed.  Xu- 
merous  other  instances,  like  the  fore2:oin2:,  might 
be  cited  to  show  how  God  puts  his  blessinc;  upon 
the  church  that  trusts  his  promises  and  follows  his 


74  (Jetting  and  Giving 

plaii.  .  Oil,  if  (;liristiaus  would  only  decide  to 
abandon  tliis  hurtful  alliance  "witli  the  world  and 
seek  and  follow  the  divine  ^vaJ !  The  success  of 
the  heavenly  kingdom  does  not  depend  upon  what 
the  sons  of  Belial  do,  or  refuse  to  do.  The  friends 
of  Jesus  are  abundantly  able  to  meet  all  the  legiti- 
mate demands  made  upon  his  cause,  and  will  do 
so,  when  once  the  jN'ew  Testament  standard  of 
beneficence  is  accepted  and  faithfully  carried  out 
in  a  consecrated  life. 

It  may  be  argued  that  some  congregations  are  so 
weak,  numerically  and  financially,  that  they  can- 
not possibly  meet  expenses.  This,  no  doubt,  is 
true ;  but  inability  to  provide  the  needed  funds  by 
direct  ofi'erings  is  no  reason  for  employing  second- 
ary agencies.  In  every  such  case  the  neighboring 
churches  should  gladly  give  aid,  just  as  the 
churches  in  Macedonia,  Corinth,  and  elsewhere, 
sent  their  contributions  to  the  poor  at  Jerusalem. 

There  are  very  many  congregations  tliat  ought 
to  take  under  tlieir  care  each  a  mission  church,  at 
home  or  abroad,  as  they  inight  elect,  and  give  aid 
thereto  until  self-support  is  assured.  They  are 
abundantly  able  to  do  so,  and  unless  something 
of  the  kind  is  done,  they  will,  sooner  or  later,  find 
themselves  out  of  sympathy  and  touch  with  all  that 
lies  beyond  the  immediate  sphere  in  which  they 
move;  and  Avitli  this  lack  of  interest  will  como  a 
fatal  paralysis  of  spiritual  energies. 

How"  such  congregations,  l)lessed  so  abundantly 
with  material  things,  need  a  baptism  of  aggressive- 


M'ronrj  Method  of  Raising  Money 


I ') 


iiess  and  a  wise  leadership  to  bring  out  and  utilize 
their  hitent  force-s  in  strengthening,  extending,  and 
niaking  triumphant  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It 
is  God's  plan  that  tlie  weak  shall  look  to  the  strong 
for  help,  but  to  the  world,  never. 


Covetousncss 


i  i 


COVETOUSXESS. 

^'Theke  was  a  certain  rich  man,  which  had  a 
steward;  and  the  same  was  accused  unto  him  that 
he  had  wasted  his  goods.'' 

^'Increasing  wealth  will  only  prove  the  means 
of  destruction,  unless  it  is  accompanied  by  an  in- 
creasing power  of  control,  a  stronger  sense  of  jus- 
tice, and  a  more  intelligent  comiprehension  of  its 
obligations." — Josiali  Strong  D.  D. 

'^Vm  a  man  rob  God  V 

^'Well  may  the  old  Latin  word  for  Avretch  be 
used  as  the  modern  synonym  for  the  covetous 
money  worshiper, — miser, — the  incarnation  of 
selfishness,  lust  of  possession,  and  superlative  un- 
happiness." 

'^Covetousness,  which  is  idolatry." 

^Tut  not  your  trust  in  money,  but  your  money 
in  trust." — Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 


Covetousness  79 


CHAPTER  VII. 

COVETOUSXESS. 

To  COVET  means  to  desire  inordinately  that 
which  belongs  to  some  one  else.  The  difference 
be.tween  covetousness  and  charity  is  this:  In 
charity  a  man  gives  his  money  to  God  as  an  act  of 
worship;  in  covetousness  he  makes  it  into  a  god 
and  worships  that. 

We  have  a  record  of  two  remarkable  collections 
taken  among  the  Hebrews  during  their  joumey- 
ings  in  the  wilderness:  One  was  for  tlie  building 
of  the  tabernacle.  ^'And  they  came,  botli  men  and 
women,  as  many  as  were  wdlling  hearted,  and 
brought  bracelets,  and  earrings,  and  rings,  and  tab- 
lets, all  jewels  of  gold  ;  and  every  man  that  offered, 
offered  an  offering  of  gold  unto  the  Lord"  (Exodus 
35:22).  All  were  interested  in  the  enterprise, 
and  gave  toward  its  erection. 

But  that  other  collection.  The  people  gave,  and 
wi  th  m a  rked  libera  1  i  ty .  They  broke  off  th e  gol d  en 
earrings  wliich  belonged  to  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  had  them  melted  and  then  molded  into 
a  calf,  before  which  they  bowed  dovai  in  Avorship. 
That  was  covetousness  in  its  worst  form,  ^Svhich  is 
idolatry."  The  calf  thus  devised  and  created  is 
not  dead  yet  It  has  a  lona:  line  of  descendants. 
Every  great  fortune  helrl  nud  controlled  for  pui'oly 


80  Getting  and  Giving 

selfish  purposes  lias  an  unmistakable  pedigree  run- 
ning back  to  the  Israelitish  calf.  Every  idol  of  a 
worldly  or  human  character  upon  which  we  lavish 
our  aft'ections  and  money  is  of  the  same  lineage; 
and  the  man  who  truly  loves  God  and  hates  evil 
will  feel  as  greatly  distressed  to  see  the  ravages  of 
this  golden  Apis  in  a  Christian  congregation  as 
Moses  did  when  it  broke  loose  and  sO'  badly  de- 
moralized the  congregation  of  Israel. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  point  out  in  one  or 
two  short  chapters  all  tlie  disastrous  results  of  this 
evil.  To  do  so,  it  v/ould  be  necessary  to  review 
the  history  of  mankind  from  Adam  down  to  the 
present  time.  It  has  ever  been  the  greatest  source 
of  crime — the  one  polluted  fountain  from  which 
flows  all  the  moral  abominations  of  the  race.  Our 
first  parents  began  their  apostacy  from  their  lov- 
ing Creator  by  coveting  the  forbidden  fruit,  and 
since  then  the  pages  of  history  record  little  else 
than  shocking  details  of  its  awful  work. 

^^The  love  of  money/''  says  Paul,  ''is  a  root  of  all 
kinds  of  evil"  (Revised  Version),  IsTot  money 
itself,  for  money  does  not  possess  a  moral  quality, 
but  the  love  of  it — that  anxious,  uncontrollable  de- 
sire for  its  possession.  God  has  rightly  interpreted 
man's  weakness  and  liability  to  be  led  away  by  the 
things  of  this  world,  hence  on  Sinai,  amid  thim- 
der  peals  and  lightning  flashes,  and  with  the  voice 
of  the  trumpet  waxing  louder  and  louder,  he  en- 
graved upon  a  table  of  stone  a  precept  which  stands 
to  this  day  unrepealed^ — ''Thou  slialt  not  covet/' 


Covctousncss  81 

And  JesLis,  in  the  Xew  Testament,  sounds  the  same 
note  of  warning  when  he  says,  ''Take  heed  and  be- 
ware of  covetousness."  He  would  have  us  think 
of  it  as  a  dangerous  foe  stealthily  pursuing  us,  or 
lying  in  wait  ready  to  leap  upon  us  with  deadly  in- 
tent at  any  time.  "They  tliat  will  be  rich  fall  into 
temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolisli 
and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction 
and  perdition"  (I.  Timothy  6:  10). 

This  dark  catalogue  of  evils  does  not  result  from 
tJie  legitimate  accumulation  and  possession  of 
money,  but  from  the  cultivation  of  an  unla^\^ul 
desire  for  it.  The  ^'destruction  and  perdition"  re- 
ferred to  await  such  as  set  their  hearts  upon  riches 
as  the  aim  anrl  end  of  human  life.  This  is  a 
money-making  age.  Opportunities  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  wealth  are  multiplying  rapidly.  Vast 
fortunes  are  being  piled  up  on  every  hand.  The 
word  ^'millionaire"  possesses  a  charm  and  thrill 
which  captivates  the  multitudes  and  intensifies  the 
scramble  for  the  '-almighty  dollar.""  While  it  is 
right  to  make  money  honestly,  its  accumulation, 
nevertheless,  is  not  Avithout  danger  to  those  who 
possess  it.  Right  here  that  most  vulnerable  of  all 
points  in  human  nature  should  be  well  gniarded. 
As  a  rule,  the  more  a  man  gets,  the  more  he  wants. 
His  thirst  for  wealth  becomes  insatiable.     Getting 

♦Several  hundred  Americans  died  last  year  (1902^  leavine  mil- 
lions to  their  heirs.  More  than  a  thousand  left  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  each.  In  Eng:land  more  than  two  hundred 
left  estates  valued  at  over  threp  hundred  million  dollars,  or  more 
than  fivp  hnnf^red  thousand  dollars  each,  five  of  them  beine  over 
five  million  dollars  each,  and  seventy-six  over  a  million  each. 


S'2  Getting  and  Giving 

gro^^'s  into  a  passion,  absorbing  every  other  interest 
and  controlling  his  entire  life.  Through  the  love 
of  money  and  the  selfish  uses  to  which  it  is  put^ 
men's  hearts  beconne  as  cold  and  hard  as  tlie  silver 
and  gold  which  they  seek. 

God  abhors  and  denounces  covetousness  because 
it  becomes  his  rival,  seeking  to  alienate  from  him 
the  aifections  and  service  of  tbe  individual.  It 
allows  no  time  for  the  contemplation  of  those  sub- 
jects, and  the  cultivation  of  those  graces  which 
ennoble  and  enrich  the  soul.  It  preempts  the  mo- 
ments which  ought  to  be  given  to  meditation  and 
prayer.  Unlike  the  lower  animals,  man  is  endowed 
with  a  degree  of  intelligence  which  enables  him 
to  perceive  and  enjoy  the  various  objects  about 
him.  Through  the  power  of  reason  he  is  able  to 
contemplate  the  most  lofty  and  inspiring  themes. 
To  employ  his  mind  thus  is  both  a  privilege  and 
duty.  How  wicked,  then,  for  a  being  so  highly 
capacitated,  created  in  the  im'age  of  the  divine,  to 
give  his  thoughts  entirely  to  the  one  subject,  of 
scraping  together  a  few  handfuls  of  dust,  Avhich  he 
uses  either  for  no  purpose  at  all  or  to  gTatify  his 
pride  and  ambition. 

Hung  Fung,  the  Chinese  sage,  was  once  asked 
by  the  emperor  wdiat  he  regarded  as  the  greatest 
danger  to  the  empire.  -  The  reply  was,  ^^The  rat  in 
the  statue.''  He  then  explained  that  the  rat  hides 
in  the  hollow,  painted,  wooden  statues  erected  to 
the  memory  of  dead  ancestors.  It  cannot  be 
smoked  out  because  that  would  desecrate  the  statue, 


Coccious}iCiis  83 

and  tlius  dishonor  the  dead ;  nor  can  it  be  drowned 
out,  for  that  would  wash  the  paint  oif  the  historic 
figure;  so  the  vermin  is  safe  within  the  sacred 
enclosure. 

Covetousness  is  the  rat  in  the  statue.  Concealed 
therein,  its  work  of  ruin  goes  on  day  and  night, 
marring  the  beauty  and  destroying  the  power  of 
the  church,  by  rendering  unholy  and  unfit  for 
heaven  its  individual  members. 

Love  of  self  is  but  another  definition  of  covet- 
ousness. ^'Selfishness  is  the  sum  of  all  deformi- 
ties; the  parent  of  all  enormities.''  Appetite,  am- 
bition, and  avarice  are  branches  springing  from 
the  same  root.  The  law  of  selfishness  is  to  accu- 
mulate and  absorb.  Following  this  rule,  monop- 
olies become  monsters,  heartless  and  ciiiel,  as  they 
crack  the  lash  over  abject  poverty  and  hopeless 
degradation. 

The  love  of  money  assumes  two  forms  in  tempt- 
ing individuals  and  nations  to  their  destruction. 
In  the  one  it  is  loved  for  its  own  sake ;  such  is  the 
sin  of  the  miser.  In  hoarding  his  money  he  often 
denies  himself  the  necessities  of  life ;  and  he  does 
all  this  knoAving  that  those  who  wish  him  dead 
will  eventually  feed  and  fatten  on  what  he  has 
penuriously  saved.  He  endures  more  hardships 
and  makes  more  sacrifices  to  keep  out  of  heaven 
than  the  martyr  does  to  get  there.  "He  hcapeth 
up  riches  and  knoweth  not  who  shall  gather  them." 

Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  years  before  he  died, 
gave  the  true  status  of  the  superlatively  rich  man 


84  Getting  and  Giving 

whose  wealth  ^\'as  being  used  simply  to  add  per 
cent,  npon  per  cent,  to  the  principal.  He  said: 
'M'  don't  see  what  good  it  does  nie — all  this  money 
that  you  say  is  mine.  I  can't  eat  it ;  I  can't  spend 
it — in  fact,  I  never  saw  it  and  never  had  it  in  my 
hand  for  a  moment  I  dress  no  better  than  my 
l^rivate  secretarj^,  and  cannot  eat  as  mucli  as  my 
coachman.  I  live  in  a  big  servants'  boarding- 
house,  am  bothered  to  death  by  beggars,  have  dys- 
pepsia, and  most  of  my  money  is  in  the  hands  of 
others,  who  use  it  mainly  for  tlieir  own  benefit." 
Thousands  of  others,  if  they  possessed  Mr.  Vander- 
bilt's  frankness,  w^ould  make  the  same  awful  con- 
fession. What  a  warning  against  the  accumulation 
of  money  for  the  sake  of  controlling  it ! 

Bion,  an  old  Greek  poet^  seeing  a  miser  pass  by, 
remarked,  ^^It  is  not  you  who  possess  your  riches, 
but  your  riches  possess  you."  '^Misers,"  he  de- 
clared, ^"are  as  careful  of  their  money  as  if  it  w^ere 
really  their  own,  but  as  much  afraid  to  touch  it 
as  though  it  belonged  to  others."  How  true  the 
description.  On  the  other  hand,  money  is  loved 
and  sought  for  the  pleasures  it  l)rings  in  the  form 
of  personal  gratification.  Here  we  see  the,  folly 
of  the  spendthT'ift.  Vast  smns  are  expended  in 
travel  for  pleasure,  in  entertainments,  in  gorgeous 
furnishings  of  a  costly  mansion,  in  the  dining  and 
wining  of  chibs,  and  the  like,  l)ut  nothing  for  the 
worthy  poor;  nothing  for  Christ's  cause. 

The  parable  of  the  prodia:al  son  is  a  warning 
ni>"jiiri,st  the  reckless  wnste  of  u^onov  to  bo  seen  on 


Covetousness  85 

every  liaiul.  Rich  men  are  fencing  themselves 
about  with  great  estates,  in  the  vain  hope  of  ab- 
sorbing all  in  the  gratitication  of  their  personal  de- 
sires and  imaginary  needs.  .Vnd  as  certainly  as 
avarice  plunges  tlie  individual  into  "destruction 
and  perdition/'  so  certainly  will  it  doom  the  na- 
tion that  creates  its  wealth  at  the  expense  of  the 
poor,  and  then  spends  it  in  '^riotous  living."  Ex- 
amples are  not  lacking  to  show  the  awful  conse- 
quences wliich  follow  criminal  methods  in  getting^ 
and  prodigality  in  spending  money. 


Covetousiiess 


COVETOUSis^ESS. 

''That  man  may  last,  but  never  lives, 
Who  much  receives,  and  notliing  gives ; 
Whom  none  can  love,  \A'hom  none  can  thank, 
Creation's  blot,  creation's  blank." 

^'^loney  not  used  for  the  good  of  others  is  ac- 
cmnulated  selfishness." 

''Ye  cannot  ser^^e  God  and  mammon." — Clirist. 

''For  we  brought  nothing  into  this  world,  and  it 
is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out." — Paul. 

"As  the  partridge  sitteth  on  eggs,  and  hatcheth 
them  not;  so  he  that  getteth  riches,  and  not  by 
right,  shall  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  and 
at  his  end  shall  be  a  fool"  (Jeremiah  IT  :  11). 


Coi'ctousness  S^ 


COVETOUSJS^ESS CONCLUDED. 

The  law  of  idolatry  is  assimilation.  The  wor- 
shiper becomes  like  the  object  adored.  If  tliat 
object  is  a  brute  beast,  then  he  becomes  brutal; 
if  it  be  an  image  of  Avood  or  stone  or  iron,  he  be- 
comes as  cold  and  insensible  to  the  cries  of  need 
about  him  as  is  the  idol  he  worships.  The  trans- 
formation is  e^-er  toward  what  we  regard  as  ideal. 
Wealth  unwisely  used  and  loved  becomes  a  kind  of 
metallic  coffin,  in  wliich  are  buried  tlie  purer  af- 
fections and  loftier  ambitions  of  the  soul.  ''They 
that  make  them  [idols]  are  like  unto  them;  so  is 
every  one  tliat  trusteth  in  them"  (Psalm;  115:  3). 
This  law  is  general. 

The  end  of  reception,  according  to  God's  plan,  is 
impartation  ;  but,  alas !  too  many,  spongelike,  only 
absorb ;  they  never  give  except  when  they  are 
squeezed  and  thus  compelled  to  respond.  A  dead 
sea  is  simply  a  basin  into  which  numerous  streams 
pour  their  sweet  waters  only  to  stagnate  and  be- 
come acrid  and  poisonous,  because  no  outlet  is  fur- 
nished. About  such  a  body  of  water  no  vegetation 
grows,  over  it  no  birds  fly,  in  it  no  fish  can  live. 

This  figure  fairly  represents  many  a  congrega- 
tion. While  the  streams  of  temporal  blessings  are 
constantly  pouring  into  it,  there  is  no  outlet  in  the 


90  Getting  and  Givmg 

way  of  impartatioii  to  human  needs.  Such  a 
church  is  spiritually  dead.  It  has  no  revival 
power,  and,  in  the  nature  of  tilings,  cannot  have. 
Bv  its  selfishness  it  puts  itself  out  of  harmony 
with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  its  true  mission. 

Perhaps  nothing  menaces  the  welfare  of  our 
nation  at  tliis  time  more  than  the  immense  aggre- 
2"ations  of  wealtli  in  tlie  hands  both  of  individuals 
and  organized  corporations.  Money  is  power,  no 
matter  Avhether  rightly  or  wrongly  used.  Its  in- 
fluence upon  society  depends  solely  upon  tlie  char- 
acter of  those  who  possess  and  employ  it.  ]^o  man 
receives  or  spends  money  without  imparting  char- 
acter to  it.  If  used  to  achieve  personal  ends,  it 
corrupts  legislation,  thwarts  justice,  stultifies  the 
moral  sense,  and  thus  endangers  our  entire  social 
and  political  fabric. 

Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  in 
a  masterful  speech  on  the  subject  of  trusts,  and  the 
accumulation  of  individual  fortunes,  delivered  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  January  6,  1903, 
sounded  a  warning  which  ought  to  be  heeded  by 
the  civilized  world.  ^'Is  there  anything,"  he  asked, 
"to  render  it  unlikely  that  if  one  of  these  vast 
fortunes  has  grown  from  a  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars to  a  hundred  million  in  thirty  years,  that  in 
the  hands  of  the  next  ])ossessor  in  another  thirty 
or  fifty  years  the  hundred  million  may  become  a 
thousand  million  ?  Is  there  anything  to  stop  the 
accumulation  of  these  snowballs '?  Cannot  the 
same  power,  business  ability,  and  capital  that  can 


Covctousness  91 

control  all  tlie  petroleum  in  the  country  by  and 
by  control  all  the  coal  ?  Can  it  not  control  tlie 
railroad  and  the  ocean  carrying  trade?  Can  it 
not  buy  up  and  hold  in  one  man's  grasp  the  agri- 
cultural and  grazing  lands  of  new  and  great 
States  ?  Can  it  not  control  the  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  mines  ?"  Speaking  further  of  the  corpor- 
ate control  of  wealth,  he  said :  '^The  natural  man 
dies,  and  his  estate  is  distributed  under  the  law, 
wdiile  the  corporation  lives  forever.  It  never  goes 
through  the  probate  court.  Its  internal  actions  are 
kept  secret.  It  is  not  zealous  for  its  own  honor  or 
reputation,  except  so  far  as  its  honor  or  reputation 
is  essential  to  money-getting.  It  has  no  soul  or 
conscience.  Suppose  some  N^apoleon  of  finance 
should  come  in  control  of  a  thousand  million  dol- 
lars, would  not  the  possibility  be  a  real  public 
danger  ?  Such  a  power  can  make  wars  or  prevent 
them.  It  can  threaten  a  community  with  a  coal 
or  wheat  famine,  and  it  can  execute  its  threats." 

These  plain  words,  spoken  with  so  much  cour- 
age, describe  a  condition,  both  real  and  possible, 
that  is  truly  alarming,  because  in  it  lurks  the  very 
elements  which  undermine  civil  government  and 
threaten  free  institutions.  Such  a  condition  ren- 
ders a  dozenfold  more  problematical  the  task  of  re- 
generating and  saving  the  world.  And  it  is  a  sad 
reflection  that  very  many  of  those  who  stand  identi- 
fied with  unscrupulous  corporations,  and  who  have, 
through  the  most  questionable  means,  amassed 
vast  private  fortunes,  which  they  use  largely  or 


92  Getimg  and  Giving 

entirely  to  enhance  personal  interests,  are  promi- 
nent in  church   circles,   and   seek  to  dictate  the 
policy  of  the  congregations  to  which  they  belong. 
But  verily  they  have  their  reward.     "How  hard  is 
it  for  them  that  trust  in  riches  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.''     Saint  James  describes  (5:1- 
3)  a  great  panic  which  is  to  occur,  finally,  among 
the  Christless  lovers  of  this  present  world.     In  the 
great  sweep  of  his  vision  he  sees  the  end  of  all 
things   earthly.      The,  final   judgment   has   come. 
The  money  market  goes  down.    Material  holdings, 
in  the  shape  of  stocks  and  bonds  and  lands,  de- 
preciate out  of  sight.     Clearing-houses  are  utterly 
abandoned.     Securities  are  worthless.     And  stand- 
ing in  full  view  of  the  exciting  scenes  of  that  day 
he  addresses  the  panic-stricken,  conscience-smitten 
multitude,  saying:     ''Go  to  now,  ye  rich,  weep  and 
howl  for  your  miseries  that  are  coming  upon  yon. 
Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are 
moth-eaten.     Your  gold  and  your  silver  are  rusted, 
and  tlieir  rust  shall  be  for  a  testimony  against  you, 
and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  fire.     Ye  have  laid  up 
your  treasure  in  the  last  days.     Behold,  the  hire  of 
the  laborers  who  mowed  your  fields,  Avhich  is  of 
you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth  out:  and  the  cries 
of  them  that  reaped  have  entered  into  the  ears  of 
the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.     Ye  have  lived  delicately  on 
the  earth  and  taken  yonr  pleasure;  ye  have  nour- 
ished your  hearts  in  a  day  of  slaughter.     Ye  have 
condemned,  ye  have  killed  the  righteous;  he  doth 
not  resist  you"    (Revised   Version).       Mark   the 


Covetousness  93 

phraseology !  It  is  not  the  gold,  but  the  rust  that 
is  to  testifv  ai^^ainst  them.  \Vealth  not  used  for  tlie 
good  of  others,  or  witlilield  from  the  hireling  who 
has  justly  earned  it,  becomes  corrupted  by  rust. 
So  Jesus  declares,  ''Lay  not  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  upon  the  earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth 
consume  and  w^here  thieves  break  through  and 
steal."  Xo  piece  of  gold  or  silver  ever  cankers 
wliile  actively  employed  in  the  service  of  hu- 
manity. 

An  awful  retribution  follows  in  the  wake  of  cov- 
etousness. Rotable  instances  in  proof  of  this  are 
to  be  found  in  Bible  history,  as  in  the  case  of 
Ahab,  who  coveted  ^aboth's  vineyard ;  of  Achan, 
who  appropriated  the  wedge  of  gold  and  Babylon- 
ish garments ;  of  Gehazi,  who  extorted  the  gar- 
ments and  silver  from  ^N^aaman ;  and  of  Ananias 
and  Sapphira,  who  ^'lied  unto  the  Holy  Ghost"  con- 
cernino-  their  possessions,  ^or  is  secular  history 
w^ithout  illustrations  of  the  fearful  results  which 
certainly  follow  selfishness,  both  in  the  individual 
and  nation. 

A  Xew  York  daily,  referring  to  the  death  of  a 
certain  very  rich  man  who  had  died  in  his  palace 
in  a  fashionable  uptown  street,  contained  the  fol- 
lowinir:  ^^He  Avas  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  excellent  standing:  a  good  husband  and 
fatbor,  nnd  a  thrifty  citizen.  On  his  death-bed  he 
suffered  c:reat  agony  of  mind,  and  crave  continued 
expression  to  his  remorse  for  what  his  conscience 
told  him  had  been  an  ill-spent  life.     "Oh,"  he  ex- 


94  Getting  and  Giving 

claimed,  ^'if  I  could  only  be  spared  for  a  few  years, 
I  would  give  all  the  wealth  I  have  amassed  in  a 
lifetime.  It  is  a  life  devoted  to  money-getting 
that  I  regret.  It  is  this  that  weighs  me  down  and 
makes  me  despair  of  the  life  hereafter.''  What  a 
sad  confirmation  of  the  scripture,  ^'He  gave  them 
their  request;  but  sent  leanness  into  their  soul." 
A  man  may  make  the  gathering  of  riches  the  one 
object  of  his  life,  and  succeed ;  but  leanness  and 
barrenness  will  be  his  portion,  whether  living  or 
dying.  The  realization  of  this  sad  condition  may 
not  come  till  the  last  hotir;  but  come  it  will,  and 
with  all  the  remorse  which  follows  a  wasted  life. 

How  impossible  for  such  a  one  to  experience  the 
promised  blessing,  ^^The  Lord  will  strengthen  him 
upon  the  bed  of  languishing;  thou  wilt  make  all 
his  bed  in  his  sickness."  "Only  the  generous  mil 
have  such  a  nurse."  Those  who  live  nnto  them- 
selves can  expect  naught  but  a  pillow  of  thorns  and 
a  Christless  journey  into  the  vast  unseen.  The  sin 
of  covetO'Usness  will  not  go  unpunished.  To  the 
unfaithful  steward  a  time  of  reckoning  will  come. 


Ministerial  Support  95 


MIiNTISTEKIAL  SUPPORT. 

"Take  lieecl  to  thyself  that  thou  forsake  not  the 
Le\'ite  as  long  as  thou  livest  upon  the  earth"  (Deu- 
teronomy 12  :  19). 

''The  better  and  more  independently  the  min- 
ister is  supported  the  higher  is  the  standard  of  his 
work,  and  the  more  blessed  his  ministrations 
amongst  the  people  he  serves." — •/.  M.  Reimeii- 
snyder,  D.  D. 

"'One  e^'il  growing  out  of  an  inadequate  support 
is  that  it  necessarily  unfits  a  man  for  the  discharge 
of  his  several  duties.  Ministers  are  men,  very 
much  like  other  men.  They  have  hearts  to  feel 
and  minds  which  can  be  depressed  as  well  as  oth- 
ers. Financial  embarrassment  will  give  them  as 
much  trouble  as  any  otlier  class  of  men,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  have  a  keen  sense  of  the  delicacy 
and  sacredness  of  the  office  of  a  minister. — Weaver. 

^'The  workman  is  worthy  of  his  hire." — Christ. 


Minisfcrial  K'uppurt  97 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ministerial  Suppokt. 

'No  PHASE  of  church  finance  is  so  important, 
and,  withal,  so  difficult  to  manage  as  that  of  ]3as- 
toral  support,  since  it  is  directly  and  essentially 
related  to  the  gospel  message  itself. 

The  dearth  in  ministerial  supply  to  be  seen 
everywhere,  and  the  lack  of  efficiency  among  so 
many  already  employed,  challenge  the  serious  con- 
sideration of  the  whole  church,  and  should  lead  to 
a  determined  effort  to  remedy  the  trouble.  It  is 
generally  admitted  that  among  the  leading  pro- 
fessions the  ministry  receives  tiie  least  compensa- 
tion. In  some  churches  the  average  yearly  salary 
is  less  than  four  hundred  dollars.  In  fact,  if  a  few 
charges  in  the  wealthiest  denominations  are  left 
out,  the  average  drops  below  seven  hundred  dollars. 
Among  no  class  of  men  can  there  be  found  so 
large  a  percentage  who  are  self-sacrificing  for  the 
good  of  others.  Certainly  they  are  not  in  the  work, 
for  what  there  is  in  it,  but  rather  for  what  they 
can  put  into  it.  When  we  consider  the  ability  of 
many  to  earn  money  in  other  callings,  it  is  evident 
that  they  give  more  to  get  to  preach  than  they 
receive  for  preaching.  ISTor  do  any  contribute  a 
larger  proportion  of  their  earnings  for  religious 
and    charitable   purposes    than   ministers.      They 


98  Geiting  and  Giving 

usually  set  tlie  pace  for  their  people,  oftimes  far 
oiitreaching  their  more  wealthy  parishioners  in 
their'  subscriptions. 

We  hear  much  said  about  the  hardships  endured 
by  the  fathers  of  the  church,  as  they  traveled  large 
fields  on  horseback  or  afoot^  and  preached  almost 
daily  the  year  round  with  but  meager  support.  We 
honor  them  for  their  faith  and  courage  and  noble 
deeds;  their  names  are  written  among  the  stars, 
and  deserve  to  be  there;  but  in  view  of  changed 
conditions, — the  increased  expense  of  living,  the 
costliness  of  travel,  and  the  ever-growing  deimands 
made  upon  the  pastor  and  his  family  to-day  in 
their  social  functions, — it  cannot  be  denied  that 
very  many  exhibit  just  as  much  heroism  in  enter- 
ing the  ministry,  and  remaining  in  it,  as  did  the 
pioneers  of  a  century  ago. 

Be  it  further  said  that,  barring  exposure  to  dis- 
ease and  the  dangers  incident  to  ocean  voyages,  not 
a  io-w  are  making  even  greater  sacrifices  than  are 
required  of  our  missionaries  in  distant  lands.  To 
start  with,  their  support  is  utterly  inadequate.  To 
provide  for  a  family,  with  any  degree  of  respecta- 
Ijility,  on  three  hundred,  or  even  foiir  hundred 
dollars  a  year,  is  impossible;  and  the  surprise  is 
that  any  of  our  laymen  should  be  so  obtuse  as  not 
to  see  it. 

Think  of  it!  Men  of  culture  and  rlevotion  9'iv- 
ino-  tho  best  they  have  and  are  to  th'^  c^nirc^i  for  a 
sum  loss  than  that  receivod  bv  tho  hod-cirviov  or 
track  hanfl  on  tlie  railroarl.     Let  us  fi<2:ure  a  little. 


Ministerial  Support  90 

Five  liundred  dollars,  exclusive  of  parsonage,  is  as 
much  as  the  average  pastor  receives  in  any  of  the 
churches,  ^^'ith  a  few  exceptions.  Possibly  more 
fall  below  this  estimate  than  go  above  it;  but  how 
few  in  a  congTegation  ever  stop  to  think  of  the  lit- 
tleness and  insignificance  of  this  sum  as  compared 
with  the  real  needs  of  a  well-ordered,  comfortable 
home.  If  there  are  four  in  the  family,  they  re- 
quire twelve  meals  a  day.  At  six  cents  each,  the 
daily  cost  of  living  is  seventy-two  cents,  or  two 
hundred  and  sixty-two  dollars  and  eighty  cents  for 
the  year.  Add  eighty  dollars  for  clothing,  twenty- 
five  for  fuel,  fifty  for  horse  feed,  twenty-five  for 
books,  papers,  stationery,  and  thirty  or  forty  for 
household  ^'ear  and  tear,  and  the  five  hundred  is 
nearly  consumed  ;  and  yet  how  shamefully  low  are 
these  estimates !  In  this  budget  of  expense,  how- 
ever, nothing  is  said  about  medical  aid,  the  enter- 
tainment of  friends,  railroad  fare,  gifts  to  benevo- 
lent objects,  etc.,  which  should  be  counted  in  as 
well  as  other  things ;  but  where  is  the  money  to 
come  from  ?  Certainly  no  greater  economy  could 
be  expected.  Already  living  is  reduced  to  six  cents 
per  meal,  and  everything  else  cut  down  in  propor- 
tion. If  the  family  is  larger,  the  ])roblem  of  main- 
tenance is  intensified,  and  the  self-denials  and 
hardships  greatly  multiplied.  The  good  Bishop 
Weaver  wrote:  ''^fen  may  say  what  they  please, 
but  the  man  does  not  live  who  can  work  as  suc- 
cessfully in  the  cause  of  Christ  when  his  family 
is  in  want  as  when  they  are  comfortably  provided 


100  Getting  and  Giving 

for.  His  heart,  under  such  circumstances,  must 
feel  oppressed.  If  it  is  not  so,  then  he  must  be 
destitute  of  all  the  finer  feelings  of  a  husband,  and 
father,  and  is  consequently  unfit  to  take  charge  of 
the  flock  of  Christ." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  good  men,  in  view  of  the 
stinted  support  to  be  expected,  sometimes  turn 
aside  into  other  legitimate  callings  ?  !N^eed  we  be 
surprised  that  so  many  young  men,  at  the  close  of 
their  college  work,  enter  other  professions  which 
promise  them  a  respectable  living  and  an  oppor- 
tunitv  to  "oav  their  lionest  debts  ?  For,  be  it  re- 
membered  that  the  man  who  is  furnished  with 
every  accomplishment  essential  to  success  in  the 
ministry  is  prepared  also  to  do  something  else 
vastly  more  remunerative.  I  do  not  argue  that  a 
young  man  is  to  be  justified  in  such  a  course.  If 
God  calls  him  to  preach,  he  must  obey,  or  put  his 
soul  in  jeopardy.  I  simply  call  attention  to  the 
great  inducements  held  out  in  various  lines  of 
business  to  lure  him  from  his  heavenly  vocation 
in  view  of  the  paltry  allowance  which  awaits  him 
in  the  ministry.  If  he  feels,  ^^Woe  is  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  gospel,"  the  matter  of  material  sup- 
port should  be  an  after-consideration.  If  he  does 
his  duty  faithfully,  preaching  the  pure  word  of 
God,  and  visiting  ^'from  house  to  house,"  the  peo- 
ple to  whom  he  administers  must  take  the  respon- 
sibility if,  through  any  neglect  of  theirs,  he  is  com- 
pelled to  look  elsewhere  for  a  livelihood.  While  a 
iTian  should  not  preach  for  money,  and  sliould  be 


Ministerial  Support.  101 

willing  even  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of  the 
poor,  that  they  may  enjoy  all  the  benehtti  of  the 
church,  I  am  loath  to  believe  that  the  Lord  requires 
him  to  live  in  poverty's  vale  all  the  days  of  his  life 
in  order  tliat  a  mammon-serving,  money-loving 
people  may  ha^'e  the  gospel  free  of  charge. 

The  position  of  the  minister  is  an  exalted  one. 
Nothing  else  among  men  will  compare  with  it.  It 
is  a  double  calling.  God  not  only  puts  his  spirit 
upon  him,  but  tlie  church  solemnly  sets  him  apart 
to  his  w^ork.  He  is  therefore  an  ambassador  for 
Christ — a  messenger  of  reconciliation.  To  his 
people  he  sustains  the  relationship  of  spiritual  ad- 
viser. His  mission  is  such  that,  if  faithfully  car- 
ried out,  prevents  participation  to  any  great  extent 
in  material  affairs.  His  work  is  sufficient  to  em- 
ploy his  head  and  heart  and  hands.  Then  he 
must  look  to  the  church  for  support.  There  is  no 
other  source  from  which  to  expect  it;  and  the 
church  is  under  the  most  sacred  and  binding  obli- 
gations to  provide  for  him  while  he  ministers  at  its 
sacred  altars,  and  to  care  for  him  when  he  becomes 
incapacitated  for  seiwice  through  affliction  or  old 
age. 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  Scriptiires.  When 
Jesus  sent  forth  his  rlisciples,  he  directed  that  they 
make  no  provision  for  themselves  in  the  way  of 
money,  extra  raiment,  and  shelter,  but  that  they 
look  to  the  people  for  whatever  Avas  needful  for 
their  comfort.  Then  he  added,  'Tor  the  labourer 
is  worth V  of  his  hire"  fLuke  10:7).     Thev  had  a 


102  Getting  and  Giving 

rigiit  tx)  expect  maintenance  if  the j  gave  them- 
selves without  reserve  to  their  work.  What  was 
true  then  is  true  now.  The  principle  of  justice  is 
eternal.  If  it  is  right  to  paj  any  man  for  his 
services,  it  is  right  to  remunerate  the  faithful 
preacher.  He  is  a  laborer  the  same  as  the  farmer 
or  carpenter,  and  is  as  deserving  as  they. 

In  I.  Corinthians  9 :  7-14,  this  thought  is  elab- 
orated by  Paul.  ^'Who  goeth  a  warfare  any  time 
at  his  own  charges  ?  Who  planteth  a  vineyard, 
and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit  thereof  ?  or  who  f eed- 
eth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  ? 
Say  I  these  things  as  a  man  ?  or  saith  not  the  law 
the  same  also?  For  it  is  written  in  the  law  of 
Moses,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox 
that  treadeth  out  the  corn.  Doth  God  take  care 
for  oxen  ?  or  saith  he  it  altogether  for  our  sakes  ? 
For  our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written:  that  he 
that  ploweth  should  plow  in  hope ;  and  that  he  that 
thresheth  in  hope  should  be  partaker  of  his  hope. 
If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a 
great  thing  if  we  shall  reap  your  carnal  things? 
Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  minister 
about  holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the  temple  ? 
And  they  which  wait  at  the  altar  are  also  partakers 
with  the  altar?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained 
that  they  which  preach  the  gospel  shnll  live  of  the 
gospel." 

Here,  by  various  arguments  and  analogies,  the 
duty  of  supporting  the  ministry  is  made  clear. 
If  the  soldier  who  hazards  his  life  for  his  conn- 


Ministerial  Sitpport  lO)) 

try  is  to  be  paid  for  his  services ;  if  tlie  husband- 
man who  plants  and  cultivates  a  vineyard  is  to 
partake  of  its  fruits ;  or  if  the  shepherd  who  feeds 
and  leads  and  protects  the  flock  is  to  derive  liis  sup- 
port from  the  same,  is  it  not  a  matter  of  equity 
tliat  the  minister — God's  soldier  and  husbandman 
and  shepherd — shall  have  all  his  temporal  needs 
supplied  by  the  church  or  churches  he  may  serve  ? 

There  was  a  maxim  among  the  Jews  tliat  ''the 
inhabitants  of  a  town  where  a  wise  man  had  made 
his  abode,  should  support  him,  because  he  had  for- 
saken the  world  and  its  pleasures  to  study  those 
things  by  which  he  might  please  God  and  be  useful 
to  men." 

The  law  made  merciful  provisions  for  the  ox. 
Though  compelled  to  toil  in  treading  out  the  corn, 
he  was  to  eat  of  that  corn.  E'ot  to  permit  him  to 
do  so,  would  be  cruel  and  wicked.  Is  not  the  gos- 
pel herald  worth  infinitely  more  than  the  ox? 
And  is  it  not  a  crime  unspeakably  greater  to  take 
his  services  for  nothing?  Strange  it  is  that  so 
many  who  give  almost  Tmceasing  attention  to  the 
dumb  animals  that  serve  them,  although  some  are 
next  to  valueless,  wholly  ignore  the  just  claims  of 
their  divinely  appointed  teacher  and  leader.  Cal- 
vin suggests,  ''It  is  one  of  the  tricks  of  Satan  to  de- 
fraud godly  minist<3rs  of  support  that  the  church 
may  be  deprived  of  their  service."  The  Rev. 
David  Thomas,  D.  D.,  with  a  biting  sarcasm,  re- 
marks: "What  churches  in  these  modern  times 
tender  to  their  ministers  as  an  acknowledinnent  of 


104  Gettiny  and  Giving 

their  service  is  regarded  as  a  charity  rather  than  a 
claim.  Charity,  indeed !  Call  the  money  you  pay 
to  yoair  butcher,  baker,  lawyer,  or  doctor,  charity, 
but  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  just,  do  not  call  that 
charity  which  you  tender  to  the  man  who  conse- 
crates his  entire  being  and  time  to  impart  to  you 
the  elements  of  eternal  life.'' 

Of  course,  in  this  discussion  w^e  are  supposing 
the  minister  to  be  faithful  in  all  the  duties  pertain- 
ing to  his  office.  Paul  declares,  in  II.  Thessalo- 
nians  3  :  10,  that  if  any  man  will  not  work  he  shall 
not  eat.  This  is  the  law,  both  of  nature  and  Chris- 
tianity, and  applies  to  the  preacher  the  same  as  to 
others.  The  indolent  pastor  has  no  claim  on  his 
people  for  support.  He  does  not  deserve  it.  ISTo 
man  is  entitled  to  the  fleece  wdio  does  not  care 
for  the  flock.  To  do  the  work  of  a  parish  requires 
incessant  toil  and  unquestioned  loyalty  to  its  every 
interest.     Such  service  surely  merits  reward. 

Under  the  laAv  of  Moses  the  priests  and  Levites 
were  not  only  provided  with  food  and  clothing,  but 
with  cities  in  which  to  dwell.  In  II.  Chronicles 
31 :  4-10,  we  have  this  interesting  record :  ''More- 
over  he  commanded  the  people  that  dwelt  in  Jeru- 
salem to  giA^e  the  portion  of  the  priests  and  Levites, 
that  they  might  be  encouraged  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord.  And  as  soon  as  the  commandment  came 
abroad,  the  children  of  Israel  brought  in  abun- 
dance the  firstfruits  of  corn,  Avine,  and  oil,  and 
honey,  and  of  all  the  increase  of  the  field ;  and  the 
tithe  of   all  things  l)rought  they  in   abundantly. 


Ministerial  Support  105 

And  concerning  the  children  of  Israel  and  Judah, 
tliat  dwelt  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  they  also  brought 
in  the  tithe  of  oxen  and  sheep,  and  tlie  tithe  of 
holy  things  which  Avere  consecrated  unto  the  Lord 
their  God,  and  laid  them  by  heaps.  In  the  third 
montJi  they  began  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the 
lieaps,  and  finished  them  in  the  seventh  month. 
And  when  Hezekiah  and  the  princes  came  and  saw 
the  heaps,  they  blessed  the  Lord,  and  his  people 
Israel.  Then  Hezekiah  questioned  with  the  priests 
and  Levites  concerning  the  heaps.  And  Azariah 
the  chief  priest  of  the  house  of  Zadok  answered 
him,  and  said.  Since  the  people  began  to  bring  the 
offerings  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  we  have  had 
enough  to  eat,  and  have  left  plenty:  for  the  Lord 
hath  blessed  his  people;  and  that  which  is  left  is 
this  great  store."  "Even  so  hath  the  Lord  or- 
dained that  they  which  preach  the  gospel  shall  live 
of  the  gospel."  This  order  is  issued  from  the 
throne  itself,  and  has  an  essential  place  and  part 
in  the  perfecting  and  carrying  out  of  God's  re- 
demptive scheme. 

What  a  reflection,  that  so  many  who  enjoy  the 
benefitv«5  of  the  ministry  never  contribute  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  pastor.  Llis  ser^'ices  are  invariably 
sought  in  cases  of  sickness  aud  death,  and  under 
other  conditions  when  lielp  and  sympathy  are  most 
needed,  but  they  are  not  willing  to  give  anything 
in  return,  thouqrh  abundantly  able  to  do  so.  They 
would  compel  liim  to  plow  without  hope.  Such 
treatment  of  God's  sorvnuts  results  either  from  in- 


106  Getting  and  Giving 

difference  to  tlie  minister's  coinfort  and  welfare, 
or  from  a  spirit  of  avarice  and  downright  dishon- 
esty: It  would  seem  that  there  is  more  unconcern 
and  consummate  deception  manifested  in  relation 
to  paying  tlie  preacher  than  in  any  other  feature  of 
church  finance. 

It  is  not  said  that  those  who  preach  the  gospel 
shall  make  merchandise  of  it,  or  get  rich  on  it,  but 
they  shall  have  a  living  in  recognition  of  their 
worlv  and  worth  to  society.  This  much  they  are 
entitled  to,  and  have  a  right  to  expect.  ''Let  him 
that  is  taught  in  the  word"  communicate  unto  him 
that  teacheth  in  all  good  things"  (Galatians  6:Q). 
Paul  evidently  regarded  the  relationship  between 
pastor  and  parish  as  close  and  endearing.  ^N'either 
can  get  along  without  the  help  of  the  other ;  hence 
a  system;  of  exchange  is  suggested.  The  man  of 
God  does  not  preach  with  the  view  of  getting 
money  in  return,  but  hecause  he  preaches  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  divine  behest,  giving  his  heart  and  life 
to  the  work,  he  has  a  just  claim  upon  his  people  for 
temporal  support. 

It  Avould  be  easy  enough  to  cite  numerous  other 
passages  bearing  directly  upon  this  subject,  but  it 
is  needless  to  do  so.  The  duty  of  the  church 
toward  its  ministers  in  this  regard  is  so  clearly 
defined  by  inspiration,  and  withal  is  so  reason- 
able, that  the  man  of  ordinary  intelligence  who 
opposes  it  and  withholds  his  means  is  both  unrea- 
sonable and  unjust,  and  therefore  does  not  merit 
the  respect  and  fellowship  of  the  church. 


The  Duty  of  the  Ministry  10" 


THE  DITTY  OF  THE  MIIN^ISTEY. 


lit 


'The  development  of  tiie  grace  of  giving  in  the 
people  is  a  part  of  the  minister's  work,  just  as  is 
the  development  of  faith  or  any  other  element  of 
Christian  character;  he  is  to  expound,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  enforce  the  duty  and  method  of  it." — 
M.Rhodes,  D.D. 


'cn^ 


'Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world,  that 
they  be  not  highminded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain 
riches/' — Paul. 

^^These  things   speak,   and  exhort,   and  rebuke 
with  all  authority"  (Titus  2 :  15). 


The  Duly  of  the  Ministry  10!) 


CHAPTEK  X. 
TiTE  Duty  of  the  Ministry. 

Ix  this  chapter,  I  wish  to  direct  attention,  espe- 
cially, to  the  duty  of  the  pulpit  in  relation  to  the 
money  question.  How  should  it  be  treated  by  the 
minister  ?  AVhat  should  be  his  attitude  toward  the 
sin  of  covetousness  ?  What  methods  should  be 
employed  to  bring  tlie  people,  as  fully  as  possible, 
into  harmony  with  the  I^ew  Testament  standard  of 
giving  ?  These,  and  many  like  questions,  merit  the 
most  candid  consideration. 

This  is  a  wealth-getting  era.  Money  is  king. 
The  greed  of  commercialism  is  being  felt  more  and 
more  by  the  observant,  as  they  see  it  tightening  its 
deathlike  grip  upon  the  sacred  institutions  of  the 
land,  thus  hindering,  if  not  effectually  destroying 
their  usefulness.  The  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  of 
the  family  altar,  of  domestic  ties,  and  of  human 
character  and  life  itself,  must  not  stand  in  the  way. 
All  law,  human  and  divine,  is  brushed  aside,  as  if 
but  a  spider's  web,  if  it  gets  in  the  way  of  making 
the  dollar.  This  is  a  dark  picture,  I  grant,  but 
conditions  warrant  it.  Something  must  be  done 
to  check  the  onrushing  tide  of  worldliness,  and  to 
save  the  nation  from  the  hell  of  avarice.  The  prob- 
lem i^  a  mighty  one.  The  love  of  money  is  deep- 
seated.     Selfishness  will  be  the  last  sin  rooted  out 


110  Getting  and  (jiving 

of  tlie  Human  heart.  The  citadel  in  which  it  takes 
refuge  will  he  the  last  to  be  stormed  and  taken  by 
the  forces  of  the  Cross.  With  w^hat  tact  and  cour- 
age, then,  should  the  whole  question  be  handled. 
The  Savior  again  and  again  warns  us  against  the 
love  of  riches,  and  its  awful  consequences,  both 
here  and  hereafter. 

While  Paul  was  a  master  in  the  art  of  influenc- 
ing and  leading  men,  he  never  faltered  in  the  pres- 
ence of  duty.  lie  evaded  no  phase  of  the  subject 
of  giving.  He  placed  it  alongside  the  most  vital 
questions,  i^o  theme  w\as  too  holy  to  be  associated 
with  it.  After  his  marvelous  discussion  of  the 
resurrection,  in  First  Corinthians,  fifteenth  chap- 
ter, he  immediately  takes  it  up  and  says,  '^^oav 
concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  have 
given  order  to  the  churches  in  Galatia,  even  so  do 
ye."  The  transition  here  may  appear  abrupt  to 
the  over-sensitive,  but  it  was  the  apostle's  method, 
and  shows  clearly  that  in  his  judgment  the  Cor- 
inthian church  needed  to  be  set  right  on  the  duty 
of  helping  the  poor,  and  the  manner  of  doing  so, 
as  well  as  on  the  question  of  the  resurrection.  In 
I.  Timothy  6 :  14-16,  he  enthrones  Jesus  as  King, 
clothes  him  ^vith  immortality  in  tlie  midst  of  light 
ineffable,  and  ascribes  to  him  everlasting  glory  and 
power;  while  in  the  very  next  verse  he  delivers 
himself  on  the  money  question  in  a  way  to  almost 
startle  the  reader,  ^^Charge  them  that  are  rich  in 
this  Avorlrl,"  etc. 

Christians  should  be  made  to  see  that  the  duty 


The  Duly  of  the  Ministry  111 

of  giviug  is  taught  in  the  Word  as  frequently  and 
clearly  as  is  the  duty  of  praying.  Xo  one  thinks 
it  ]3ossible  for  a  man  to  be  good  without  prayer, 
the  divinely  appointed  medium  of  approach  to  the 
mercy-seat  A'or  can  a  man  be  good  if  he  is  cov- 
etous. Such  a  state  of  heart  unHts  him  for  com- 
munion with  his  Lord.  Offerings  mean  something 
with  God  as  ^^'ell  as  prayer.  The  angel  said  to 
Cornelius,  ''Thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a  me- 
morial before  God.'' 

The  pulpit  is  bound  by  considerations  high  and 
holy  to  discuss  f  aithf  idly  this  great  question  in  its 
every  aspect^  and  to  emphasize  it  as  a  duty  w^hich 
the  gospel  lays  upon  all  Christians,  and  as  binding 
as  any  other  requirement.  It  should  not  be  ap- 
proached with  hesitation  or  misgivings,  but  in  the 
confidence  of  divine  authority.  The  pastor  is  in  a 
position,  as  no  one  else  is,  to  mold  sentiment  and 
impress  responsibility.  He  is  a  teacher  and  leader 
*^sent  from  God,"  and  the  church  will  be  largely 
what  he  makes  it.  If  Avise,  he  will  give  special 
attention  to  the  young.  In  a  little  while  they  will 
constitute  the  church.  A  large  portion  of  the  coun- 
try's wealth  a  few  years  hence  will  be  controlled 
by  them.  The  great  departments  of  Christian  ac- 
tivity wdll  have  to  look  t-o  them  for  support.  How 
important,  then,  that  they  be  led  early  to  see  God's 
plan,  and  to  recognize  the  fact  of  their  stewardship. 
In  the  Sunday  school.  Young  People's  meetings, 
midweek  prayer-services,  and  Sabbath  ministra- 
tions, as  opportunity  is  afforded,  the  duty  of  set- 


112  Getting  and  Giving 

ting  apart  a  certain  portion  of  their  income  for 
sacred  purposes,  and  of  casting  it  into  the  divine 
treasury  as  an  act  of  worship,  should  be  f aitlif ully 
presented. 

The  process  of  developing  intelligent  giving  is 
not  one  of  a  few  weeks,  or  months,  but  of  years. 
Benevolence  is  a  growth,  and  must  have  its  place 
in  the  spiritual  unfolding  of  the  congregation. 
The  growth  of  a  tree,  and  the  kind  of  fruit  it 
yields,  depends  upon  where  its  roots  are  buried; 
likewise,  if  we  w^ould  have  men  ^'abound  in  this 
grace  also,  ^Sve  must  see  to  it  that  their  faith  and 
interests  are  intelligently  rooted  in  the  objects  to 
which  they  are  asked  to  contribute. 

We  need  not  expect  to  see  our  colleges,  church- 
extension  and  missionary  societies  generously  sus- 
tained until  the  people  are  thoroughly  informed  re- 
specting the  purpose  and  methods  of  these  depart- 
ments, and  the  places  they  occupy  in  aggressive 
denominational  work.  The  membership  is  not 
always  to  blame  where  collections  are  short  and  the 
minister's  salary  is  unpaid.  Diversity  of  method, 
and  frequent  pastoral  changes,  have  much  to  do 
with  these  things.  Only  the  right  plan  persistently 
held  to,  and  as  persistently  applied,  will  expand 
a  church  into  the  Godlike  excellence  of  liberality. 
When  once  a  proper  system  is  adopted,  and  made 
eflFective,  the  matter  of  securing  funds  tO'  carry  on 
the  legitimate  work  of  the  church  will  no  longer  be 
a  problein.  At  no  time,  however,  should  the  atti- 
tude of  the  pulpit  be  such  as  to  discourage  the  mak- 


The  Duty  of  the  Ministry  llo 

ing  of  money  for  the  good  of  others.  No  thought- 
ful person  denies  that  the  acquisition  of  wealth  is 
right  and  proper,  provided  its  distribution  is  the 
chief  end  sought.  There  are  multitudes  who  have 
already  a  competence  for  themselves  and  families, 
but  shall  they  retire  from  business  because  they 
are  thus  situated,  and  no  longer  exercise  their  tal- 
ents in  money-making  ?  Xot  for  a  day.  This  may 
be  their  specific  calling.  Their  foresight  into  busi- 
ness affairs,  and  their  good  judgment  in  managing 
them,  lit  them  for  such  work.  Let  them  keep  on. 
It  is  a  glorious  thing  to  make  money  for  God ;  and 
those  who  are  competent  and  willing  should  be 
given  every  encouragement  possible ;  but  great 
stress  is  to  be  laid  upon  the  motive — for  God,  The 
true  end  of  reception  is  impartation.  On  this 
point  there  must  be  no  mistake. 

Much  might  be  said  as  to  the  method  of  pre- 
senting tlie  question  of  finance  from  the  pulpit, 
but  a  suggestion  or  two  in  this  connection  will  be 
sufiicient.  It  is  unwise,  except  on  rare  occasions, 
to  take  a  collection  after  a  sermon  on  the  subject. 
Would  it  be  prudent,  after  a  discourse  on  prayer, 
to  call  on  everybody  present  to  pray?  or,  after  a 
sermon  on  restitution,  to  demand  that  every  guilty 
person  present  stand  up  and  make  confession,  and 
forthwith  render  satisfaction  for  their  wrong-do- 
ings ?  Xo  discreet  pastor  would  think  of  such  a 
course.  The  people  are  sent  home  to  reflect  upon 
what  they  have  hoard,  and  to  settle  the  question 
of  dutv  in  tlio  solitude  of  communion  with  God. 


114  Getting  and  Giving 

In  like  manner,  and  with  tlie  same  end  in  view, 
should  the  money  question  be  presented.  There 
are  very  many,  to  be  sure,  who  never  give  unless 
their  sympathies  are  stirred  by  a  sermon  or  other 
appeal.  They  drift  with  the  tide.  It  may  be,  and 
no  doubt  is  better  that  they  contribute  in  this  way 
than  not  at  all ;  for  under  such  conditions  vast  smns 
are  secured  for  special  objects ;  yet,  after  all,  it  is 
a  different  kind  of  giving  that  we  want; — a  kind 
that  is  intelligent  and  that  grows  out  of  a  profound 
conviction  of  duty. 

The  people,  generally,  have  come  to  understand 
that  the  discourse  on  benevolence  is  to  be  followed 
by  a  collection,  hence,  as  soon  as  it  is  clear  that 
"a  begging  sermon"  is  to  be  preached,  they  look 
for  the  hat  to  be  passed  as  a  fitting  complement. 
Such  a  policy  is  nearly  always  prejudicial  to  be- 
nevolence, instead  of  being  helpful,  and  does  much 
.to  defeat  the  very  end  it  seeks  to  gain.  This  vital 
theme  should  be  presented  on  its  merits,  the  same 
as  any  other  cardinal  truth,  and  with  all  the  fervor 
of  a  soul  awake  to  its  importance. 

Some  ministers  refrain  from  a  public  discussion 
of  the  subject,  lest  they  offend  certain  of  their  hear- 
ers, and  drive  them  from  the  church.  This  fear, 
however,  is  not  well  founded.  Any  minister  can 
afford  to  preach  the  truth  in  love  and  "in  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit."  A  great  deal  depends  upon 
the  manner  in  which  the  theme  is  presented.  It 
woTild  be  possible  to  make  almost  any  doctrine  of 
the   Bible  repugnant   to   a   congregation.      While 


T]ie  Duty  of  the  Ministry  115 

nrncli  depends  upon  what  a  man  says,  very  much 
also  depends  upon  how  he  says  it. 

It  seems  to  me  we  have  come  to  a  tinife  when 
some  clarion  call  to  the  Christian  ministry  itself 
needs  to  be  sounded,  until  God's  servants  are 
stirred  to  faithfulness  in  declaring  his  whole  coun- 
sel concerning  the  stewardship  of  wealth. 

When  Oliver  Cromwell  visited  for  the  first  time 
the  Yorkminster  Cathedral,  in  England,  he  saw 
far  above  the  sacred  altar  twelve  silver  statues. 
Gazing  at  them  for  a  moment,  he  said,  rather  ir- 
reverently, ''Who  are  those  fellows  up  there?" 
"Silver  statues  of  the  twelve  holy  apostles,"  was 
the  reply.  ''Take  them  do^Ti,"  said  he,  "melt  tliem 
into  coin,  and  send  it  out  to  do  good."  There  are 
farms,  bank-stx)ck,  and  government  bonds  here  and 
there  all  over  this  country  that  ought  to  be  turned 
into  coin  and  sent  out  to  do  good.  Silks,  satins, 
and  jewelry,  representing  millions  piled  up  at  the 
shrine  of  the  goddess  Fashion,  ought  to  be  turned 
into  coin  and  sent  out  to  make  the  world  brighter 
and  better.  How  the  courage  of  a  Cromwell  is 
needed  to  proclaim  the  true  mission  of  silver,  and 
the  folly  of  hoarding  wealth,  no  matter  what  its 
form,  simply  for  tlie  sake  of  possessing  it ! 

It  is  impossible  to  preach  the  gospel  in  all  its 
fullness  if  the  duty  of  giving  is  eliminated ;  and 
the  pastor  who,  through  fear  or  false  modesty  or  in- 
difference or  for  any  other  reason,  fails  to  instruct 
and  build  up  hi?;  people  in  the  grace  of  giving,  or 
who  refuses  to  warn  them  against  avarice,  is  guilty 


IIG  (jetting  and  Giving 

of  imfaitli'tLiliiess,  and  sLoukl  nut  be  intrusted  witli 
the  oversigiit  of  a  c(.)ngTegation. 

Christians  should  be  no  more  sensitive  to  the 
presentation  of  this  duty,  when  it  conies  in  its 
proper  order,  than  to  the  announcement  of  a  hymn 
of  praise;  and  to  the  preacher  it  should  be  no  more 
of  a  task  than  to  praj  in  public,  or  read  a  Scrip- 
ture lesson.  But  suppose  a  few  do  take  olt'ense  and 
leave  the  church,  or  withhold  from  the  pastor  their 
cooperation,  is  that  to  be  taken  as  a  sufficient  reason 
for  thrusting  a  matter  so  essential  froin  the  pulpit  ? 
If  an  honest,  faithful  discussion  of  the  subject  stirs 
up  a  quarrel  between  some  man  and  his  conscience, 
let  it  be  so;  the  sooner  the  better.  If  conscience 
triumphs,  well  and  good ;  but  if  the  sensual  passion 
for  money  overcomes,  and  tlie  man  is  lost,  he,  and 
not  the  preacher,  is  responsible  for  the  awful  re- 
sult. 

While  the  cultivation  and  enlargement  of  the 
spirit  of  giving  is  committed  more  fully  to  the 
minister  than  to  any  one  else,  it  is  also  true  that 
in  nine-tenths  of  our  congregations  the  entire  plan 
of  finance  is  under  his  direction,  which  greatly  in- 
creases his  responsibility.  Practical  results  de- 
pend mainly  upon  him.  No  step  is  taken  without 
first  seeking  his  cooperation,  if  not  absolute  guid- 
ance. It  is  important,  therefore,  that  he  have  a 
well-defined  systeuj,  and  be  able  to  apply  it  in  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  his  church. 

Who  has  not  observed  that  the  same  congrega- 
tion differs  in  its  benevolence  under  different  ad- 


21ie  Duly  of  the  Minl.slrjj  1  17 

ministrations  i  TJie  same  people  give  much  more 
one  year  tlian  another^  not  because  they  are  better 
off  materially,  but  l)eeause  they  have  a  better  and 
broader  leadership — one  that  plans  and  inspirej^, 
and  makes  success  possible. 

In  view  of  these  tilings,  is  it  not  clearly  the  duty 
of  the  theological  seminary  to  provide  special  in- 
struction on  the  question  of  finance?  The  rela- 
tion of  money  to  successful  church  work ;  the  best 
methods  of  de^'cloping  benevolence  in  the  congre^ 
gation;  liow  to  raise  money  for  religious  purposes  ; 
the  training  of  cbildren  in  the  grace  of  giving,  are 
all  topics  entering  into  the  work  and  experience  of 
every  successful  pastor,  and  no  school  of  sacred 
learning  has  done  its  duty  fully  until  it  has  placed 
within  reach  of  its  students  the  best  instruction 
possible  along  this  line.  A  mere  reference  to  the 
subject  occasionally  by  the  professors  in  their  class 
work  will  not  suffice.  A  course  of  lectures  should 
be  arranged,  such  as  will  cover  the  entire  field  of 
getting  and  giving,  familiarizing  the  students  with 
all  the  arguments  to  be  derived  both  from  reason 
and  the  Word  of  God,  giving  pertinent  illustra- 
tions, making  plain  the  consequences  of  covetous- 
ness,  and  at  the  same  time  portraying  the  imfaith- 
fulness  and  consequent  guilt  of  tlu^  mitiister  who 
neglects  these  things. 

After  a  seminary  course,  the  young  man  is  sent 
out  equipped,  presumably,  for  his  Avork.  The- 
ology, exegesis,  homiletics,  history,  and  rhetoric 
have  all  entered  into  his  preparation  :  but  tliese  are 


118  Getting  and  Giving 

not  sufficient.  Something  will,  be  sadly  lacking 
if  the  study  of  financial  methods  was  not  given  a 
rightful  place  in  his  training.  He  may  be  eloquent 
in  speech,  profound  in  learning,  broad  as  a  church- 
man, merciless  in  his  analysis,  critical  as  an  inter- 
preter, and,  withal,  fail  measurably  because  he 
does  not  know  how  to  plan  for  the  raising  of 
money,  or  for  its  faithful  distribution  when  once 
secured. 

W.  R.  Funk,  1).  D.,  makes  the  following  com- 
ment on  this  point:  "Every  minister  should  ob- 
serve careful  business  methods  in  handling  the 
finances  of  his  church,  and  in  his  own  personal 
affairs.  To  obtain  these,  the  theological  school 
should  provide  a  course  of  lectures  on  'Practical 
Finance,'  that  would  open  this  subject  to  every 
young  man  entering  the  ministry.  A  good  pastor 
and  an  eloquent  minister  is  often  handicapped  by 
poor  business  methods.  There  are  many  who  are 
capable  of  giving  the  needed  instruction,  and 
should  be  secured  for  that  purpose." 

No  matter  what  a  man's  other  qualifications 
may  be,  if  he  lacks  good,  every-day  business  sense, 
he  will  lack  organization,  and,  consequently,  the 
means  to  carry  on  the  work  of  his  church.  If  the 
views  of  the  masses  are  to  be  broadened  on  the  sub- 
ject of  stewardship,  and  a  better  system  of  finan- 
ciering is  to  be  introduced  into  church  work,  and 
both  are  essential,  then  the  education  niust  begin 
with  the  minister  himself  long  before  a  pastorate  is 
assigned  him. 


Tlie  Divine  Method  of  Churcli-Buildiiuj    119 


THE  DIVIA^E  METHOD  OF  CHUKCH- 
BUILDIiN"G. 

The  cliurcli-house  means  more  than  the  stone 
and  bricks  and  fiiraishings  in  it.  It  is  God's 
thought  materialized  and  crystallized. 

The  American  flag  and  the  Protestant  cliurcli- 
liouse  go  together;  God  himself  has  ordained  the 
union,  and  what  lie  hatli  joined  together  let  no  man 
put  asunder. 

The  churcli  edifice  stands  for  the  highest  form 
of  civilization  known  to  man. 

"He  shall  build  an  house  unto  mv  name." 


The  Divine  Meiliod  of  Church-BuildiiKj    I'll 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Divixe  Method  of  Church-Buildixg. 

Ix  the  rude  altar  of  eartJi,  which  was  the  first 
meeting-place  for  God  and  man  after  the  fall,  we 
have  the  genesis  of  a  religious  evolution  which  is 
to  develoj^,  finally,  into  tlie  highest  form  of  worship 
possible  to  a  redeemed  soul. 

Later,  an  altar  of  stone  was  erected.  In  this  we 
see  a  step  upward  in  the  tastes  and  ideals  of  the 
worshiper.  After  the  exodus  and  the  forming  of 
tlie  Jewish  people  into  a  distinct  nation,  the  taber- 
nacle was  built.  Jehovah  himself  gave  specific 
directions  in  this  Avork,  designating  the  artificers, 
describing  the  different  kinds  of  materials  to  be 
employed,  and  indicating  for  what  purpose  and  by 
whom  the  various  apartments  were  to  be  used. 

An  interesting  element  in  this  undertaking  was 
the  contributor.  In  fact,  this  is  so  in  every  phase 
of  Christian  ser^'ice  which  involves  the  duty  of 
giving.  In  Exodus  35  :  5,  we  read,  ^'Takeye  from 
among  you  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  :  whosoever  is 
of  a  willing  heart,  let  him  bring  it,  an  offering  of 
the  Lord ;  gold,  silver,  and  brass."  This  was  the 
first  step  in  the  work. 

1.  Nothing  but  a  free-will  offering  was  ac- 
cepted. "And  they  came,  every  one  whose  heart 
stirred  him  up,   and   every  one  whom'  his  spirit 


122  Getting  and  Giving 

made  willing',  and  they  brought  the  Lord's  offer- 
ing to  tlie  Avork  of  the  tabernacle"  (Verse  21). 

'2;  Each  gave  what  he  had.  Some  contributed 
gold  and  silver,  and  some  precious  stones.  Others 
gave  fine  linen  and  badger  skins.  But  the  very  poor 
were  also  given  an  opportunity  to  show  their  inter- 
est in  the  unique  enterprise.  Other  things  than 
valuable  metals  and  costly  textiles  were  to  be  used. 
Even  goats'  hair,  A\'hich  the  humble  and  unpreten- 
tious gathered  from  the  brambles  in  the  wilderness, 
was  brought  in  and  consecrated  to  the  work. 
Every  kind  of  material  was  appropriated ;  every 
person  was  permitted  to  participate.  Finally, 
when  sufficient  preparation  had  been  made,  Moses 
issued  a  proclamation  announcing  that  nothing 
more  was  needed.  '^So  the  people  were  restrained 
from  bringing." 

When  the  tent  was  set  up  a  scene  of  indescribable 
grandeur  was  witnessed.  A  cloud  covered  it  and 
the  fflorv  of  the  Lord  was  so  manifested  for  the 
time  that  Moses  could  not  enter  it. 

The  point  I  wish  to  especially  emphasize  is  that 
no  debt  was  made  in  the  erection  of  this  place  of 
worship.  Eveiy  dollar's  worth  of  material  was 
secured  and  paid  for  before  hand.  !N'or  did  the 
people  resort  to  any  artificial  or  questionable  meth- 
ods in  raising  funds.  The  whole  business  was 
planned  by  Jehovah.  His  method  of  raising 
money  is  made  very  plain.  The  appeal  to  the  in- 
ner heart  was  so  strong  that  absolute  sacrifice 
proved  a  real  joy  to  the  people. 


The  Divine  Method  of  Church-Building    1213 

The  tabernacle  idea,  after  five  hundred  years, 
was  expanded  into  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  the 
most  gorgeously  finished  and  furnished,  and  there- 
fore the  most  costly,  building  the  world  ever  saw. 
But  every  dollar  necessary  to  complete  this  mars^el- 
ous  structure  was  gathered  before  a  stone  was  laid 
in  the  foundation.  King  David,  in  his  day,  began 
to  provide  for  it.  In  one  collection  (I.  Chronicles 
29)  more  than  $25,000,000  in  gold,  beside  other 
precious  materials,  was  brought  into  the  treasury 
for  the  Avork.  When  dedication  day  came  no 
money  was  called  for,  because  none  was  needed. 
Xo  secret  council  of  the  church  officials  in  order 
to  devise  ways  and  means  was  necessary.  Xo  loans 
to  be  secured ;  no  mortgage  to  be  executed ;  no 
sheriff's  hammer  in  hearing  distance;  no  carpen- 
ter's lien  to  be  feared.  That  harrowing  sensation 
which  a  big  church  debt  produces  was  not  felt  by 
the  devout  worshipers,  j^o,  no!  Every  bill  for 
material  had  been  met,  every  workmian  had  been 
paid  in  full.  Xothing  was  left  to  be  done  except  to 
give  the  house  to  God,  and  this  act  of  consecration 
was  one  of  the  memorable  events  of  Old  Testament 
times.  What  a  prayer  Solomon  offered  oil  the  oc- 
casion I  How  full  of  praise  and  supplication ! 
How  the  people  were  awed  in  the  presence  of  such 
a  scene  as  followed !  x\s  fire  from  heaven  con- 
sumed the  saci'ifice  on  the  altar,  and  the  house  was 
filled  with  the  presence  and  majesty  of  Jehovah, 
they  "bowed  themselves  with  their  faces  to  the 
ground  and  worshipped  and  praised  the  Lord,  say- 


124  Getting  and  Giving 


ing,  For  lie  is  good  and  his  mercy  endureth  for- 
ever.'^ 

Do  we  not  have  illnstrated  here,  most  forcibly, 
the  divine  method  of  church -building  'i  In  these 
two  notable  instances  cited,  where  every  detail  of 
the  work  was  planned  and  executed  by  God's  di- 
rection, we  have  ideals  which  should  ever  be  stud- 
ied and  followed  in  the  building  of  church  edifices. 
Bishops  and  editors,  preachers  and  laymen,  are 
ever  ready  to  point  us  to  the  Bible,  both  for  precept 
and  example,  touching  every  form  of  Christian 
work.  Where  no  positive  precept  is  given,  exam- 
ples are  pointed  out.  In  all  this  they  are  right. 
Then  why  not  apply  the  same  rule  in  building 
church-houses  ? 

Two  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  after  the 
temlple  was  dedicated,  it  needed  repairing.  Wicked 
hands  had  despoiled  it  of  its  beauty  and  precious 
furnishings.  But  w^hat  plan  did  King  Joasli  adopt 
to  meet  expenses  1  Did  he  proceed  blindly,  hoping 
that  a  combination  of  fortuitous  circumstances 
w^ould,  somehow,  bring  the  money  in  ?  E^ot  so.  He 
was  too  good  a  financier  for  that.  Since  the  tem- 
ple was  God's  house,  his  people  must  provide  for 
its  repair.  At  the  proper  time  a  chest  was  made 
and  placed  at  the  gate  of  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
into  which  the  people  put  their  offerings.  The 
command  was  '^to  bring  in  to  the  Lord  the  collec- 
tion that  Moses,  the  serv^ant  of  God,  laid  upon 
Israel  in  the  wilderness.''  Here  he  recognized  the 
authority  of  Moses,  whose  precepts  and  methods 


The  Divine  Method  of  Church-Building    125 

Avere  simply  a  reflection  of  God's  thoughts  and 
plans.  When  the  chest  was  full,  it  was  emptied 
and  returned  to  the  gate,  and  this  process  was  kept 
up  until  all  tlie  money  required  for  repairs  w^as 
contributed. 

Would  it  not  be  wise  in  us  to-day,  in  every  case 
where  God's  sanctuary  needs  repairing,  to  raise  the 
money  with  which  to  do  it  before  a  nail  is  driven 
or  tlie  paint-brush  is  applied  ?  Would  not  such  a 
plan  give  the  world  more  faith  in  the  purpose  and 
inteffritv  of  tlie  church  ?  W^ould  it  not  strike  busi- 
ness  men,  both  in  and  out  of  the  church,  as  a  com- 
mon-sense method  of  doing  things  ?  Would  not 
the  people  themselves  feel  better  after  having  done 
so? 

After  the  captivity  a  synagogue  was  built  in 
every  community  where  there  lived  a  considerable 
number  of  Jews.  The  old  idea  that  God  could  be 
worshiped  only  in  Jerusalem  was  gradually  dis- 
carded by  the  faithful  in  Israel,  as  their  experience 
was  broadened  and  their  conception  of  true  wor- 
ship enlarged.  In  providing  funds  for  tlie  syna- 
gogue the  divine  plan,  as  seen  in  connection  with 
the  tabernacle  and  temple,  was  observed.  The 
money  required  was  first  secured.  But  if,  for  any 
reason,  there  was  a  lack  of  funds,  the  cost  of  the 
building  was  correspondingly  reduced.  No  debt 
was  allowed  to  accrue.  So  it  was  in  the  time  of 
the  early  church.  Let  some  one  point  out  if  he  can 
a  single  instance. where  the  fathers  made  the  blun- 
der of  contracting  an  enormous  debt.    In  the  early 


126  Getting  mid  Giving 

history  of  our  own  and  other  churches  in  this  coun- 
try, but  few  debts,  if  any,  were  made.  The  pay- 
as-you-go  plan  was  rigidly  adhered  to.  That  this 
w^as  God's  method  all  agreed,  and  they  governed 
themselves  accordingly. 

But  we  have  found  another  way.  In  too  many 
instances  the  question  of  expense  gets  but  little 
consideration,  while  the  question  of  appearance  be- 
comes paramount.  The  theory  that  a  debt, 
whether  on  a  church-house  or  college,  is  a  means 
of  grace  is  a  heresy,  and  is  calculated  to  do  much 
harm  to  those  who  have  had  no  experience  in  such 
matters.  A  means  of  grace?  Ask  the  burdened, 
worn-out  college  president  about  it.  Ask  the  pas- 
tor who  spends  weary  years  in  trying  to  save  his 
church-house  from  public  auction  if  he  thinks  there 
is  any  grace  about  it.  He  will  most  likely  tell  you 
that  it  has  made  more  against  his  success  than  any 
one  thing  else.  Ask  the  f ew^  faithful  members  who 
always  have  to  carry  these  debts  if  they  think  there 
is  any  grace  in  borrowing  money  here  and  there, 
paying  a  high  rate  of  interest,  perhaps  out  of  their 
own  pockets,  and  otherwise  suffering  annoyances 
next  to  unbearable. 

Many  a  church  is  started  when  the  projectors 
themselves  have  no  idea  where  the  funds  with 
which  to  complete  it  are  to  come  from.  They  pro- 
fess to  go  by  faith.  "God  mil  help  us  out," 
they  say.  But  they  fail  to  see  that  God  helps  only 
those  who  plan  wisely  and  according  to  the  rules  of 
common  business  sense.    He  cannot  be  expected  to 


The  Divine  Method  of  Church-Building    127 

work  a  miracle  in  order  to  make  successful  tlie  ill- 
begun  work  of  a  visionary. 

Jesus  says,  '^For  which  of  you,  intending  to 
build  a  tower,  sitteth  not  down  first,  and  counteth 
the  cost,  whether  he  have  sufficient  to  finish  it;  lest 
haply,  after  he  hath  laid  the  foundation,  and  is 
not  able  to  finish,  all  tliat  behold  it  begin  to  mock 
him.''  In  every  case  the  cost  should  first  be 
counted ;  so  the  wisest  of  all  teachers  said.  And  if 
this  is  to  be  done  in  private  affairs,  how  much  more 
important  that  it  be  done  in  church-building  enter- 
prises, where  the  funds  are  to  come  from  tlie  be- 
nevolence of  the  people. 

E.  ^.  White,  D.  D.,  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Church  Erection,  in 
commenting  on  these  words  of  the  Savior,  says : 

^^Tliis  searching  question  seamed  to  demand  but 
one  ansAver.  In  the  day  when  it  was  asked,  mort- 
gages upon  towers,  whether  of  castles  or  syna- 
gogues, were  little  knoA\Ti.  In  our  day  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  so  far  as  churches  and  their  towers  are 
concerned,  there  is  too  little  of  'sitfinfi  doicn  and 
counting  the  cost/  Too  often  an  enthusiasm,  in 
itself  most  captivating,  blinds  the  eye  to  the  real 
nature  of  the  steps  which  are  being  hastily  taken. 
A  church-building  is  needed,  and  one  that  shall  be 
suitable  and  attractive.  This  is  so  clear  that  it 
seems  very  cold  and  obstructive  to  insist  upon 
knowing  first  of  all  hov\^  it  is  to  be  paid  for. 

"The  alhirements  which  entice  churches  almost 


128  Getting  and  Giving 

unconscioiislv  into  debt  are  many :  One  of  the 
most  coniiiion  of  these  is  the  supposed  necessity  of 
^hitilding  for  the  future/  Is  so  large  and  expens- 
ive an  edifice  needed  ?  No,  not  at  the  present 
time;  but  this  town  is  sure  to  grow  and  our  con- 
gregation to  increase.  Doubtless  five  years  hence 
we  shall  have  to  enlarge,  and  it  is  better  to  do  so 
now.  There  is  just  enough  truth  in  this  argument 
to  make  it  misleading.  In  itself  considered  it  is 
better  to  build  large  enough  for  a  prospective 
growth ;  but  far  better  not  if  in  doing  so  a  debt  is  to 
be  incurred  which  will  not  only  oppress  the  present 
congregation,  but  tend  to  prevent  the  very  acces- 
sion which  is  hoped. 

'^Another  seductive  influence  is  the  natural  and 
pardonable  desire  to  build  as  attractively  as  neigh- 
boring churches  of  other  denominations.  Yet  with 
taste  and  a  careful  selection  of  plans,  a  smaller  and 
less  expensive  building  can  be  made  quite  as  at- 
tractive. Certainly  a  heavy  mortgage  is  not  an 
architectural  adornment.  .  .  .  There  should 
always  be  a  careful  accounting  of  resources.  Here 
little  room  should  be  left  for  guess-work.  A  dili- 
gent canvass  of  the  congregation  and  of  the  neigh- 
borhood should  be  made  to  obtain  as  large  a  sub- 
scription as  possible.  To  do  this  effectively  it  may 
be  well  to  have  a  definite  idea  of  the  proposed  cost 
and  design  of  an  edifice  such  as  it  is  desirable  to 
have,  but  with  full  understanding  that  it  shall  be, 
if  necessary,  modified  to  meet  the  resources;  and 
w^hen  these  are  once  determined,  there  should  be 


The  D'ivuic  Method  of  Church-Building    120 

an  inflexible  determination  tliat  the  expense  shall 
not  exceed  them. 

^'To  sum  up  in  a  word,  the  only  way  for  the  aver- 
age congregation  to  avoid  debt  in  church-building 
is  for  it  to  adopt  the  same  thorough  business  meth- 
ods which  the  majority  of  its  members  understand 
they  m^ust  use  in  the  management  of  their  own 
personal  affairs.'' 

These  timely  words  come  from  one  of  extended 
experience  and  observation,  and  merit  the  most 
careful  consideration.  There  may  be  an  excuse, 
under  some  circumstances,  for  a  church  debt, — 
one  that  can  be  managed  by  the  congregation  or 
others  directly  interested, — but  there  is  absolutely 
no  justification  for  an  unreasonable  one, — the  kind 
that  discourages  the  masses,  that  \^T*ings  blood 
from  not  a  few,  and  that  fills  the  very  ears  of  God 
with  cries  of  sorrow  and  with  pleadings  for  rescue 
from  disgrace  and  ruin. 

The  fact  that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  cost  hun- 
dreds of  millions  is  no  warrant  for  the  buildins:  of 
imposing  and  costly  structures  to-day.  The  tem- 
ple stood  for  the  entire  Jewish  church,  and  there- 
fore the  whole  nation  was  called  upon  to  aid  in  its 
erection.  To-day  each  neighborliood  must  build 
for  itself,  and  should  carefully  reckon  its  ability 
before  the  Avork  is  undertaken ;  or,  as  Jesus  would 
say,  it  must  first  count  the  cost. 

If  a  congregation  is  abundantly  able  to  build  and 
pay  for  an  edifice  worth  half  a  million  dollars, 
should  it  not  do  so?     I  answer,  No.     Abilitv  to 


130  Getting  and  Giving 

give  is  not  a  just  excuse  for  extravagance.  The 
same  is  true  in  all  worldlv  and  personal  affairs. 
The  fact  that  a  man  is  rich  does  not  license  him  to 
spend  fabulous  sums  for  carriages  and  upholstery 
and  wearing  apparel.  Christian  stewardship  de- 
mands a  wiser  use  of  our  money. 

The  wealthy  society  would  do  much  better,  and 
put  itself  moTe  fully  in  accord  with  the  real  needs 
of  humanity,  to  employ  one-half  of  the  five  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  in  providing  church-houses 
for  those  not  able  to  build  for  themselves.  This 
amount  would  insure  the  erection  of  hundreds  of 
chapels  in  the  neglected  portions  of  our  great  cities 
and  towns.  Thus,  instead  of  enabling  only  one 
minister  to  preach  the  gospel  in  a  great,  costly 
building,  opportunity  would  be  given  scores  of 
ministers  to  proclaim  the  word ;  and  instead  of 
hundreds,  many  thousands  would  be  brought, 
through  these  rallying  points  and  recruiting  sta- 
tions, into  contact  with  the  saving  power  of  grace. 
The  world  is  too  needy  and  helpless  for  any  one 
congregation  to  pile  up  its  money  in  a  vast  struc- 
ture to  be  known  as  a  place  of  worship.  The  rich 
may  enter  therein,  but  the  poor  will  not  do  so. 
Social  distinctions  are  too  marked.  Such  displays 
are  not  in  keeping  with  the  conditions  and  environ- 
mjents  of  the  common  people. 

Bishop  J.  S.  Mills,  D.  D.,  aptly  says:  "The 
building  of  costly  churches  is  an  unmse  expendi- 
ture of  money,  and  should  be  discouraged  every- 
where.    Whether  viewed  from   a   scriptural  or  a 


The  Divine  Method  of  Church-Building    131 

sociological  standpoint,  it  is  wrong  for  the  few 
to  expend  fabulous  sums  of  money  for  their  own 
personal  convenience  and  gTatification,  while  the 
many  are  deprived  of  church  privileges  because  of 
absolute  inability  to  provide  for  themselves  places 
of  worship." 

Shall  a  congregation  able  to  build  and  pay  for 
a    $3,000    or    $5,000    church    erect    one    costing 
$20,000  or  $25,000,  with  the  expectation  that  the 
next  generation  will  see  it  out  of  debt  ?     So  some 
argue;  but  such  a  plan  carried  out  w^ould  entail  a 
score  of   evils  upon   the   congTegation,   and   most 
likely  the  coming  generation  would  be  so  disgusted 
wdth  the  whole  business  as  to  take  no  interest  in 
it  whatever.      Was   tliis  the   divine   arrangement 
when  the  tabernacle  and  temple  were  built  ?    That 
the  state  leaves  debts  for  coming  generations  to 
pay  is  no  argument  that  a  congregation  may  do 
so.    In  this  re^rard  there  is  no  analogy  between  the 
t^vo.     Church  debts  are  paid  by  free-will  offerings. 
State,  county,  and  municipal  debts  are  paid  be- 
cause  the   citizen   could   not   help   himself   if  he 
should  try.     He  must  pay  up,  or  be  held  up.     The 
keen  eye  of  the  law  will  discern  his  proJDerty,  and 
the  sheriff  will  turn  it  into  money.    The  church,  on 
the  other  hand,  cannot  employ  such  metho^ls,  and 
should  not  if  it  could.     It  is  not  a  money-making 
concern.     Xo  authority  can  lay  and  collect  a  rev- 
enue for  any  purpose.    "Men  refusinc:  to  pay  might 
be  expelled  from  the  church,  but  that  would  not 
raise  the  required  funds.     A  man  might  be  com- 


132  Getting  and  Giving 

pelled  by  law  to  pay  his  subscription,  but  what  ec- 
clesiastical power  on  earth  could  compel  the  com- 
ing generation  to  pay  church  debts  that  we  con- 
tract to-day  ? 

The  true  policy,  based  upon  the  Scriptures  and 
sound  business  principles,  is  this :  ( 1 )  Whenever 
providence  clearly  opens  the  way,  build.  (2) 
Build  according  to  ability.  (3)  Promptly  meet 
all  financial  obligations  thus  incurred.  (4)  If  any 
surplus  remains  after  the  house  is  completed,  use 
it  in  helping  others  to  build.  This  will  also  fur- 
nish a  field  in  which  to  use  the  accumulations  of 
after  years.  The  congregation  that  builds  with 
the  view  of  bestowing  all  its  means  upon  its  home 
work,  thus  making  it  impossible  to  help  anybody 
else,  shows  that  it  has  yielded  to  the  dictates  of  a 
very  unwise  leadership,  and  puts  itself  in  a  posi- 
tion to  be  of  very  little  service  at  home  or  abroad. 

Selfishness  is  sin.  To  this  all  agree.  When  a 
man  is  seen  spending  all  his  money  on  self  and 
family,  leaving  nothing  for  others,  he  is  roundly 
denounced  by  the  preacher.  The  victim  of  self- 
ishness, it  is  emphasized,  is  in  danger  of  the  "eter- 
nal burnings"  ;  and  is  this  not  true  ?  But  how  is 
it  with  the  congregation  that  spends  nil  its  funds 
on  itself  ?  ^o  money  for  general  interests.  Every 
dollar  must  be  used  to  meet  outstanding  obliga- 
tions year  by  year  as  they  come  due.  A  reasonably 
nice  and  commodious  house  could  have  been  paid 
for,  but  that  would  not  do.  Their  sesthetic  tastes 
demanded  something  better,  something  far  beyond 


Tlic  Divine  Method  of  Ch  iirch- Bull  din  <j    133 

their  ability  to  provide ;  hence  a  debt  that  ^vill  con- 
sume tlieir  resources  for  many  years.  Will  some 
one  explain  tlie  difference  between  seltishnetis  in 
the  individual  and  in  the  aggregation  of  individu- 
als? Every  house  of  worship  should  be  a  credit- 
able one ;  but, it  does  not  require  the  expenditure  of 
a  fortune  to  build  a  respectably  ap]x\aring  house. 
A  $5,000  church  out  of  debt  is  much  more  desir- 
able than  a  more  costly  one  with  a  $5,000  mort- 
gage resting  upon  it. 

Bishop  G.  M.  Mathews,  D.  D.,  says:  "It  is  a 
painful  fact  that  in  many  cases  there  is  a  clear  de- 
parture from  the  divine  method  of  erecting  houses 
of  worship.  In  ancient  times  God  gave  definite 
specifications  and  direction  for  the  building  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  also  of  the  temple  that  succeeded 
it.  And  that  structure  was  magnificent  and  costly. 
But  there  was  only  one  temple,  and  that  had  a 
t^^ical  sig-nificance  not  attached  to  our  present 
houses  of  worship.  In  the  time  of  Christ,  syna- 
gogues were  gorgeous  and  expensive  structures,  but 
they  were  comparatively  few  in  number.  The 
people  from  far  and  near  gathered  there  to  wor- 
ship God.  Neither  in  the  Old  or  ^N'ew  Testament 
times  did  the  people  erect  a  house  of  worship  with- 
out there  was  a  need  of  and  demand  for  such  a 
sanctuars^  in  the  nation  or  community  in  which  it 
was  erected.  But  now  conditions  are  very  different. 
Dense  population  requires  places  of  worship  in 
different  districts  and  localities  convenient  for  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  men.     This  changed  con- 


13tt  Getting  and  Giving 

dition  of  life  and  society  makes  .tlie  multiplication 
of  church-buildings,  and  their  wise  distribution, 
an  absolute  necessity  in  order  to  evangelize  the 
multitudes.  Hence,  instead  of  a  few,  God  would 
have  us  erect  a  larger  and  sufficient  number  of 
plain,  commodious  houses  to  accommodate  all  wor- 
shipers. The  extravagant  expenditure  of  money 
on  church  edifices  for  the  gratification  of  the  ambi- 
tion of  a  few  persons  is  not  only  unwise  but  dis- 
pleasing to  God,  to  whose  glory  they  are  dedi- 
cated." 

Comfort  is  the  one  word  which  most  nearly  de- 
scribes the  ideal  church-building,  and  money  spent 
for  more  than  that  word  implies  is  needlessly  em- 
ployed. In  determining  the  cost  of  such  an  edifice 
much  depends  upon  the  location,  the  price  of 
ground,  the  roomi  required,  and  the  financial 
ability  of  the  congregation ;  but  under  no  circum- 
stances is  a  waste  of  sacred  funds  justifiable. 
Comfort  is  to  be  sought,  ^ot  useless  towers,  costly 
paintings,  and  gorgeous  furnishings,  too  often 
prompted  by  a  spirit  of  rivalry,  but  comfort. 


BX9878  .5.W39 
Getting  and  giving; 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00021   2730 


